Search

We report the first case of cosegregation of two haemoglobins (Hbs): HbG-Philadelphia [α68(E17)Asn→Lys] and HbDuarte [β62(E6)Ala→Pro]. The proband is a young patient heterozygous also for β∘-thalassaemia. We detected exclusively two haemoglobin variants: HbDuarte and HbG-Philadelphia/Duarte. Functional study of the new double variant HbG-Philadelphia/Duarte exhibited an increase in oxygen affinity, with a slight decrease of cooperativity and Bohr effect. This functional behaviour is attributed to β62Ala→Pro instead of α68Asn→Lys substitution. Indeed, HbG-Philadelphia isolated in our laboratory from blood cells donor carrier for this variant is not affected by any functional modification, whereas purified Hb Duarte showed functional properties very similar to the double variant. NMR and MD simulation studies confirmed that the presence of Pro instead of Ala at the β62 position produces displacement of the E helix and modifications of the tertiary structure. The substitution α68(E17)Asn→Lys does not cause significant structural and dynamical modifications of the protein. A possible structure-based rational of substitution effects is suggested.

The oxidation of L-arginine, monomethyl L-arginine and asymmetric dimethyl arginine catalyzed by copper/TPQ-amine oxidases from lentil (Lens esculenta) seedlings and pig kidney was investigated by optical spectroscopy and HPLC analyses. L-Arginine and its methylated derivatives were shown to be poor substrates for both enzymes and were oxidized by an unusual mechanism yielding glutamate-5-semialdehyde, ammonia, urea and their derivatives as reaction products. These findings suggest that amine oxidases might represent an alternative metabolic pathway of the arginine and its methylated derivatives, yielding new metabolites like urea, methylurea and dimethylurea.

Advanced glycation end products (AGE) are elevated in diabetes mellitus (DM) and predict the development of atherosclerosis. In vitro produced AGE-albumin induces oxidative stress that is linked to the reduction in ABCA-1 levels and cholesterol efflux mediated by apo A-I and HDL-subfractions, leading to macrophage cholesterol accumulation. We characterized the glycation level/profile of human serum albumin (HSA) isolated by fast protein liquid chromatography from poorly controlled type 1 (DM1) and type 2 (DM2) diabetes mellitus patients (HbA1c > 8%) in comparison to control (C) individuals, and how these AGE-albumin can interfere in macrophage lipid accumulation. The glycation level of HSA from C, DM1 and DM2 was analyzed by MALDI mass spectrometry and was similar between DM1 and DM2-HSA. An increased mean mass was observed in DM1-HSA (68,544 ± 192 Da; n=6) and DM2-HSA (68,547 ± 132 Da; n=6) compared to C-HSA (67,846 ± 301 Da; n=6), reflecting the condensation of at least 8 and 5 units of glucose, respectively. The tryptic digestion of C-HSA generated a number of peptide species higher than those originated from DM1 and DM2-HSA. Macrophages isolated from peritoneal wild-type mice were treated for 18 h with C, DM1 or DM2-HSA in order to measure the 14C-cholesterol efflux and the mRNA expression of NOX-4 (NADPHoxidase4), ABCA-1 (Abca1) and ABCG-1 (Abcg1). Data were compared by one-way ANOVA and Dunnet′s post test. In comparison to cells treated with C-HSA the expression of NADPHoxidase4 (p The level of advanced glycation that takes place in vivo was similar between DM1 and DM2-HSA and induced macrophage oxidative stress and impairment in cholesterol efflux that may contribute to atherogenesis in DM. Funding: FAPESP, Brazil (2012/19112-0)

The main aim of diabetic nephropathy monitoring is to identify molecular markers, that is, to find changes occurring at metabolome and proteome levels indicative of the disease’s development. The mass spectrometry methods available today have been successfully applied to this field. This paper provides a short description of the basic aspects of the mass spectrometric methods used for diabetic nephropathy monitoring, reporting and discussing the results obtained using different approaches.