RESUMO
Copper toxicity has been associated to the capacity of free copper ions to catalyze the production of superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical, reactive species that modify the structure and/or function of biomolecules. In addition, nonspecific Cu2+-binding to thiol enzymes, which modifies their catalytic activities, has been reported. Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) monooxygenase is a thiol protein that binds substrates in the first and limiting step of CYP450 system catalytic cycle, necessary for the metabolism of lipophilic xenobiotics. Therefore, copper ions have the potential to oxidize and bind to cysteinyl residues of this monooxygenase, altering the CYP450 system activity. To test this postulate, we studied the effect of Cu2+ alone and Cu2+/ascorbate in rat liver microsomes, to independently evaluate its nonspecific binding and its pro-oxidant effects, respectively. We assessed these effects on the absorbance spectrum of the monooxygenase, as a measure of structural damage, and p-nitroanisole O-demethylating activity of CYP450 system, as a marker of functional impairment. Data obtained indicate that Cu2+ could both oxidize and bind to some amino acid residues of the CYP450 monooxygenase but not to its heme group. The differences observed between the effects of Cu2+ and Cu2+/ascorbate show that both mechanisms are involved in the catalytic activity inhibition of CYP450 system by copper ions. The significance of these findings on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs is discussed.
Assuntos
Cobre/toxicidade , Inibidores das Enzimas do Citocromo P-450 , Inibidores Enzimáticos/toxicidade , Oxidantes/toxicidade , Animais , Quelantes , Cobre/metabolismo , Sistema Enzimático do Citocromo P-450/metabolismo , Inibidores Enzimáticos/metabolismo , Glutationa/metabolismo , Cinética , Fígado/enzimologia , Masculino , Microssomos Hepáticos/enzimologia , Oxidantes/metabolismo , Oxirredutases O-Desmetilantes/antagonistas & inibidores , Ligação Proteica , Ratos , Ratos Sprague-Dawley , EspectrofotometriaRESUMO
1. Isradipine and lacidipine, two new drugs that are members of the nitro-aryl-1,4-dihydropyridine family, produced inhibition of both growth cultures and oxygen consumption on epimastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi Tulahuen strain, at micromolar concentrations. 2. Isradipine was found to be the most potent derivative in both, in growth cultures (I50 = 20.8 microM) and in vivo oxygen uptake (I50 = 31.1 microM). 3. Diltiazem and verapamil, two well-known calcium channel antagonists, lacked inhibitory activity, even at a 100 microM concentration. 4. The present findings indicate that the trypanocide effects exerted by isradipine and lacidipine are not related with a disruption of the calcium homeostasis of the parasite.