Oxidation of Thiamine on Reaction with Nitrogen Dioxide Generated by Ferric Myoglobin and Hemoglobin in the Presence of Nitrite and Hydrogen Peroxide

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I. I. Stepuro^1*, A. Yu. Oparin¹, V. I. Stsiapura², S. A. Maskevich², and V. Yu. Titov³

¹Institute of Pharmacology and Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Bul’var Leninskogo Komsomola 50, 230017 Grodno, Belarus; fax: (+375) 152-434-121; E-mail: biophyz@biochem.unibel.by

²Yanka Kupala Grodno State University, ul. Ozheshko 22, 230023 Grodno, Belarus

³Pirogov Russian State Medical University, Federal Agency for Public Health and Social Development, ul. Ostrovityanova 1, 117997 Moscow, Russia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received November 28, 2010; Revision received May 25, 2011

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It is shown that nitrogen dioxide oxidizes thiamine to thiamine disulfide, thiochrome, and oxodihydrothiochrome (ODTch). The latter is formed during oxidation of thiochrome by nitrogen dioxide. Nitrogen dioxide was produced by incubation of nitrite with horse ferric myoglobin and human hemoglobin in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. After addition of tyrosine or phenol to aqueous solutions containing oxoferryl forms of the hemoproteins, thiamine, and nitrite, the yield of thiochrome greatly increased, whereas the yield of ODTch decreased. In the presence of high concentrations of tyrosine or phenol compounds ODTch was not formed at all. The neutral form of thiamine with the closed thiazole cycle and minor tricyclic form of thiamine do not enter the heme pocket of the protein and do not interact with the oxoferryl heme complex Fe(IV=O) or porphyrin radical. The tricyclic form of thiamine is oxidized to thiochrome by tyrosyl radicals located on the surface of the hemoprotein. The thiol form of thiamine is oxidized to thiamine disulfide by both hemoprotein tyrosyl radicals and oxoferryl heme complexes. Nitrite and also tyrosine, tyramine, and phenol readily penetrate into the heme pocket of the protein and reduce the oxyferryl complex to ferric cation. These reactions yield nitrogen dioxide as well as tyrosyl and phenoxyl radicals of tyrosine molecules and phenol compounds, respectively. Tyrosyl and phenoxyl radicals of low molecular weight compounds oxidize thiamine only to thiochrome and thiamine disulfide. The effect of oxoferryl forms of myoglobin and hemoglobin, nitrogen dioxide, and phenol on thiamine oxidative transformation as well as antioxidant properties of the hydrophobic thiamine metabolites thiochrome and ODTch are discussed.

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KEY WORDS: nitrite, oxoferryl forms of hemoproteins, hydrogen peroxide, thiamine, thiochrome, thiamine disulfide, oxodihydrothiochrome

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297912010051

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