The chemical biology of hydropersulfides (RSSH): Chemical stability, reactivity and redox roles

Simran S. Saund, Victor Sosa, Stephanie Henriquez, Q. Nhu N. Nguyen, Christopher L. Bianco, Shuhei Soeda, Robert Millikin, Corey White, Henry Le, Katsuhiko Ono, Dean J. Tantillo, Yoshito Kumagai, Takaaki Akaike, Joseph Lin, Jon M. Fukuto

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

61 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Recent reports indicate the ubiquitous prevalence of hydropersulfides (RSSH) in mammalian systems. The biological utility of these and related species is currently a matter of significant speculation. The function, lifetime and fate of hydropersulfides will be assuredly based on their chemical properties and reactivity. Thus, to serve as the basis for further mechanistic studies regarding hydropersulfide biology, some of the basic chemical properties/reactivity of hydropersulfides was studied. The nucleophilicity, electrophilicity and redox properties of hydropersulfides were examined under biological conditions. These studies indicate that hydropersulfides can be nucleophilic or electrophilic, depending on the pH (i.e. The protonation state) and can act as good one- and two-electron reductants. These diverse chemical properties in a single species make hydropersulfides chemically distinct from other, well-known sulfur containing biological species, giving them unique and potentially important biological function.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)15-24
Number of pages10
JournalArchives of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Volume588
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015 Dec 15

Keywords

  • Electrophilicity
  • Hydropersulfide
  • Nucleophilicity
  • Redox regulation
  • Thiols

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