Acrolein (ACR) is a well-known carbonyl toxin produced by lipid peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which is involved in several life-threatening pathologies such as Alzheimer disease, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, and nephropathy. The aim of this work was to study the quenching ability of the endogenous tripeptide glycyl-histidyl-lysine (GHK), a liver cell growth factor isolated from human plasma, towards the electrophilic aldehyde ACR and to characterize the reaction products by electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS infusion experiments; positive ion mode). The reaction of ACR (30 μM) with GHK (0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 mM) was followed by measuring aldehyde consumption by reverse-phase HPLC (phosphate buffer, pH 7.4); after 4 h, when the aldehyde had completely disappeared; the reaction products were checked by ESI-MS/MS. Several products were detected in the GHK + ACR reaction (1:1). This indicates a complex reaction cascade involving the sequential addition of ACR (up to 3 mol) to the tripeptide GHK and, in particular, to the ε-amino group of the lysine residue and to the Nτ and Nπ of the histidine moiety. The Michael addition of two molecules of ACR to the ε-amino group of the lysine residue is followed by aldol condensation and dehydration to give the N-(3-formyl-3,4-dehydropiperidino) derivative. The results confirm that the ESI-MS/MS approach in a direct infusion experiment permits rapid profiling of the products of the GHK + ACR reaction. They firstly point to the potential medicinal use of GHK in the prevention of carbonyl stress-linked pathologies, and - second - help shed light on the physiological role of this histidine-containing tripeptide which is claimed to be an endogenous growth factor, but has never been shown to be an ACR quencher.
Acrolein sequestering ability of the endogenous tripeptide glycyl-histidyl-lysine (GHK) : Characterization of conjugation products by ESI-MSn and theoretical calculations / G. Beretta, E. Arlandini, R. Artali, J. M. Garcia Anton, R. Maffei Facino. - In: JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOMEDICAL ANALYSIS. - ISSN 0731-7085. - 47:3(2008), pp. 596-602.
Titolo: | Acrolein sequestering ability of the endogenous tripeptide glycyl-histidyl-lysine (GHK) : Characterization of conjugation products by ESI-MSn and theoretical calculations |
Autori: | BERETTA, GIANGIACOMO (Primo) MAFFEI FACINO, ROBERTO (Ultimo) |
Parole Chiave: | Acrolein; Adducts; Computational studies; ESI-MS/MS; GHK; Quenching ability |
Settore Scientifico Disciplinare: | Settore CHIM/08 - Chimica Farmaceutica |
Data di pubblicazione: | 2008 |
Rivista: | |
Tipologia: | Article (author) |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2008.02.012 |
Appare nelle tipologie: | 01 - Articolo su periodico |