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1 From the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Medical Genetics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; and the 2 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. Minimal in vitro modification of LDL (3 days, 37°C) was achieved with glucose (0, 50 mM), under antioxidant conditions (for NLDL, GLDL), or under mild oxidant conditions (for MO, GOLDL) in the presence/absence of aminoguanidine (0, 1, 10, 100 µM). Glucose and aminoguanidine were then removed by dialysis. Confluent bovine retinal capillary endothelial cells (n = 13) and pericytes (n = 14) were exposed to LDL (100 mg/l) for 3 days, with and without aminoguanidine (100 µM) in media. Cell counts were determined by hemocytometer.
RESULTS. A decrease in cell counts after exposure to modified compared with NLDL was confirmed (P < 0.001) but was significantly mitigated if LDL had been modified in the presence of aminoguanidine (P < 0.001). Aminoguanidine was as effective at 1 µM as at the higher concentrations. Aminoguanidine (100 µM) present in culture media conferred no additional protection, and showed slight evidence of toxicity. Aminoguanidine present during LDL modification had no effect on measured glycation or oxidation products, or on LDL oxidizability.
CONCLUSIONS. Very low concentrations of aminoguanidine mitigate toxicity of LDL exposed to stresses that simulate the diabetic environment. This action may contribute to the beneficial effects of aminoguanidine observed in experimental diabetic retinopathy.
| Introduction |
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Aminoguanidine inhibits the development2 and progression3 of experimental diabetic retinopathy in streptozocin-diabetic rats and also the development of atherosclerosis,4 diabetic nephropathy,5 neuropathy,6 and cataracts.7 Its effects are attributed to inhibition of advanced glycation reactions8 and/or inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS)9 or other enzymes.
In its effects on advanced glycation, aminoguanidine scavenges reactive
carbonyl intermediates formed by free radical oxidation of
carbohydrates, fructoselysine (FL, the early protein glycation
product), and lipids (reviewed in Reference 10). Reactive carbonyls
damage proteins, phospholipids, and other
macromolecules.10
In diabetes, carbonyl formation is
enhanced by increased availability of substrate (glucose, FL,
lipoproteins), perhaps increased susceptibility of lipoproteins to
oxidation, perhaps increased "oxidative stress."10
11
These considerations led to a "carbonyl stress hypothesis" for the
development of diabetic complications, proposing that glycemic and
oxidative stresses combine to determine complication
risk.10
11
One carbonyl-derived product in proteins is
N
-carboxymethyllysine (CML),12
whose concentration is measured in this study in apoB, the
apolipoprotein of LDL.
The other established action of aminoguanidine is enzyme inhibition. In intact cells, both inducible and constitutive NOS (in neurons) are 50% inhibited by 6 to 10 µM and 100 µM aminoguanidine, respectively.9 In retinal capillaries, inducible NOS is present in both endothelial cells and pericytes; constitutive NOS is found in endothelial cells only.13 It is also possible that aminoguanidine could inhibit an LDL-associated enzyme, or protect it from inactivation by glycoxidative stress.
In this study, to maintain pathophysiological and pharmacological relevance, we used very mildly modified LDL and low (micromolar) concentrations of aminoguanidine (i.e., levels at or below those in plasma and tissues of aminoguanidine-treated animals3 and humans14 ).
| Methods |
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LDL Isolation
Seven separate preparations of pooled normal human LDL were used.
For each, 180 ml venous blood was drawn into EDTA (4.2 mM final
concentration) from each of a group (5 or 6 volunteers) of
normolipemic, nondiabetic, healthy humans (none taking medications or
vitamin supplements). The study was approved by our Institutional
Review Board at the Medical University of South Carolina, and informed
consent was obtained from all volunteers. Plasma was pooled and LDL
(1.019 < d < 1.063 g/ml) isolated by sequential
ultracentrifugation as described previously.15
To maintain
antioxidant conditions, all salt solutions used to adjust solvent
densities and dialysis buffer solutions contained 270 µM (0.01%
wt/vol) EDTA, and dissolved oxygen content was minimized in these
solutions by purging with nitrogen before use.15
Pooled
LDL samples were divided into 13 aliquots for in vitro modification.
In Vitro Modification of LDL
The 13 aliquots of LDL were incubated concurrently (3 days,
37°C, pH 7.4, in phosphate-buffered saline with EDTA, 270 µM) to
prepare normal LDL (NLDL, control incubation) and 12 different
modified preparations: GLDL, MOLDL, and GOLDL each prepared in
the presence of 0, 1, 10, and 100 µM aminoguanidine (logistics
precluded incubation of NLDL with aminoguanidine). Specific
incubation conditions, as previously described,1
were as
follows:
Control Incubation (NLDL).
One aliquot of LDL was incubated under nitrogen with added
diethylenetriaminepentacetic acid (DTPA; 1 mM) to enhance antioxidant
conditions.
In Vitro Glycation (GLDL).
Four aliquots of LDL (aminoguanidine concentrations of 0, 1, 10, and
100 µM) were incubated for NLDL, but with added
D-glucose (final concentration 50 mM).
In Vitro Minimal Oxidation (MOLDL).
Four aliquots of LDL (aminoguandine as above) were incubated as for
NLDL except under air rather than nitrogen and without added DTPA. To
obtain only minimal oxidation, EDTA was not removed.
In Vitro Glycoxidation (Glycation and Minimal Oxidation Combined;
GOLDL).
Four aliquots of LDL (aminoguandine as above) were incubated as
described for MOLDL, but with added D-glucose (50 mM
final concentration).
After incubation, samples were dialyzed against NaCl (150 mM) containing EDTA (270 µM) under nitrogen at 4°C to remove glucose, aminoguanidine, and DTPA if present. Protein content was determined by the method of Lowry, as previously described1 : it was typically approximately 5 g/l.
LDL Characterization
Fructoselysine and CML in LDL were determined by gas
chromatography/mass spectroscopy as described
previously.1
16
Thiobarbituric acidreacting substances
(TBARS) were measured spectrophotometrically, as described
previously.1
Susceptibility of LDL to in vitro oxidation
was measured by a modified Esterbauer technique,17
as
described previously.18
Briefly, after removal of EDTA by
chromatography (Sephadex G25, medium, column; Pharmacia, Piscataway,
NJ) and filtration to remove aggregates, LDL was diluted to 100 mg/l
cholesterol (Sigma) with phosphate-buffered saline, which had been
purged with oxygen for 10 minutes immediately
beforehand.18
Oxidation was initiated by 5 µM
CuCl2 (37°C), and conjugated diene formation
was monitored by measuring absorbance (234 nm; model DU 650
spectrophotometer; Beckman, Fullerton, CA), as described
previously.18
Culture of Bovine Retinal Capillary Endothelial Cells and Pericytes
Bovine globes were obtained from a slaughterhouse, and retinal
capillary endothelial cells and pericytes were cultured as described
previously.1
Endothelial cells exhibited typical
morphology, positive staining for factor VIII (Atlantic Antibodies,
Stillwater, MN), and ability to incorporate fluorescein-labeled
acetylated LDL (DiI-AcLDL; Biomedical Technologies, Stoughton,
MA).19
Pericytes stained positively for 3G5
ganglioside,1
negatively for factor VIII, and did not
incorporate DiI-AcLDL.19
Protocol
Thirteen experiments were performed with endothelial cells, using
two different pooled LDL preparations and three different cell batches.
Fourteen experiments were performed with pericytes, using seven
different pooled LDL preparations and five different cell batches.
Within each experiment, cells were exposed to 26 different conditions:
the 13 LDL preparations described above, each studied with and without
aminoguanidine (100 µM) in culture media.
For each experiment, cells were plated into four (12-well) plates (Costar, Cambridge, MA) and grown to confluence. One plate was used at day 0 for baseline determinations. Growth medium in the remaining three plates, among which 26 of the 36 wells were occupied, was replaced by serum-free medium containing 1% albumin and supplemented with the various LDL preparations (100 mg/l LDL protein) ± aminoguanidine (0 or 100 µM). After 3 days incubation, medium was aspirated, and cell counts were determined. Using baseline values for each experiment (defined in figure legends), values at day 3 were expressed as a percentage of those at day 0.
Cell Counting
For counting, cells were trypsinized, resuspended in 100 µl
growth medium to which 200 µl 1% trypan blue solution was added.
Using a hemocytometer, total and viable cells in four 0.1 µl volumes
were counted. The total of these four cell counts was multiplied by 750
to estimate cells/well. Counting was performed by a single observer
unaware of sample identity. Intra-assay coefficients of variation were
obtained by assessing reproducibility of cell counts from replicate
wells at day 0 and averaging 6.1% and 5.3% for endothelial cells and
pericytes, respectively. Because 80% to 90% of cells were viable, and
because the conclusions obtained from analyses of total and viable cell
counts were essentially identical (except as detailed below), we
present only "total cell count" data (termed "cell counts").
Statistical Analysis
SAS (Cary, NC) and Sigma Stat (SPSS, Chicago, IL)
statistical software were used. In individual experiments, cell counts
on day 3 were expressed as percentages of day 0. Significant overall
differences according to cell type were identified by MANOVA.
Subsequently, for each cell type, significant overall differences were
evaluated according to LDL modification, presence of aminoguanidine in
LDL-modifying incubation, and presence of aminoguanidine in culture
medium, using a three-way MANOVA. If the MANOVA yielded positive
results, differences within individual treatment groups were evaluated
using the Tukey multiple comparison procedure. Hypotheses were tested
at the 0.05 level of significance.
| Results |
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Effect of Presence/Concentration of Aminoguanidine in LDL-Modifying
Incubation.
For endothelial cells, 1 or 10 µM aminoguanidine in the modifying
incubation significantly increased cell counts compared with 0
aminoguanidine (P < 0.05, Fig. 1A
). For pericytes,
this effect was seen with 10 or 100 µM aminoguanidine (Fig. 1B) . When
the three levels of aminoguanidine were directly compared, no
differences were observed among them, and each abolished the
significance of reductions in cell numbers after exposure to modified
LDL.
Aminoguanidine in the Cell Culture Medium.
Aminoguanidine (100 µM) in cell culture media resulted in a small but
significant overall reduction in pericyte counts (P <
0.02; Fig. 1B
). A similar trend, not reaching significance, was
observed with endothelial cells (Fig. 1A)
. Using "live cell counts"
(trypan blue exclusion), a significant negative effect of
aminoguanidine was observed for endothelial cells (P <
0.001) but not for pericytes. Therefore, at this relatively high
concentration, aminoguanidine exhibits some direct cytotoxicity.
However, the effect is small, and the net effect of aminoguanidine
present during LDL modification and in cell culture media remained
beneficial (Fig. 1)
.
Degree of Modification of LDL
Fructoselysine, CML, and TBARS content of five LDL pools are
summarized in Table 1
. Effects of aminoguanidine were analyzed within individual modification
groups (e.g., GLDL was compared only with GLDL prepared in the
presence of aminoguanidine). LDL exposed to glucose (GLDL, GOLDL)
showed significant (10-fold) increases in FL content compared with
NLDL and MOLDL. As expected,20
aminoguanidine had no
effect on FL formation.
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TBARS in MOLDL and GOLDL were significantly higher than in NLDL (P < 0.05) but nevertheless remained low in all the modified lipoproteins. Aminoguanidine had no significant effect on TBARS formation.
Modification of LDL (± aminoguanidine) had no effect, compared with NLDL, on electrophoretic mobility on agarose gels (data not shown). We have previously shown that modified LDL prepared as in these experiments is not recognized by the macrophage scavenger receptor.15
Oxidizability of each LDL preparation was unaffected by the prior
presence of aminoguanidine during LDL modification. As expected,
oxidizability increased (i.e., lag phase shortened) as the extent of
modification increased: NLDL < GLDL
MOLDL <
GOLDL. However, when oxidizability of each modified LDL was
determined with aminoguanidine (0, 1, 10, 100 µM) present during the
Cu2+-mediated oxidation of the Esterbauer
technique, aminoguanidine had a pro-oxidant effect with increasing
concentration (data not shown), as has been observed by others at these
low concentrations.
| Discussion |
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The mechanism by which aminoguanidine inhibits complications in experimental diabetes is unknown. Its effects are usually attributed to inhibition of advanced glycation reactions (by scavenging reactive dicarbonyls) and/or to inhibition of NOS and perhaps other enzymes. In this study, aminoguanidine was effective at very low concentrations when present during LDL modification (i.e., in a cell-free environment) but ineffective in the presence of cells. This makes an action mediated by enzyme inhibition unlikely, although it is possible that an LDL-associated enzyme (e.g., platelet activating factor acetylhydrolase) might be implicated. An action involving reactive carbonyls seems more probable. In LDL, both the protein (apoB) and lipid components of the particle are targets for, and sources of, reactive carbonyls. As targets, lysines in apoB and amino groups in surface aminophospholipids may be modified. As sources, glycated residues (in apoB and surface phospholipids) and fatty acid residues (in phospholipids and cholesteryl esters) may be oxidized, generating carbonyls.10 We measured several parameters of modification: FL, CML, TBARS, electrophoretic mobility, and susceptibility to oxidation. These reflected the consequences of mild glycoxidative stress but were not influenced by the presence of aminoguanidine. Nevertheless, aminoguanidine may act by inhibiting formation of unidentified products in LDL, which mediate important cellular responses. Such responses may involve amplification via signaling pathways, so that very low concentrations of aminoguanidine could inhibit a biological response dependent on a small input signal. An effect on signaling is consistent with our observation that aminoguanidine in culture media at submicromolar concentrations can abolish the toxic effects of high glucose levels (50 mM).22 In both scenarios, aminoguanidine is present in a high-glucose aqueous environment in contact with a lipid surface (i.e., phospholipids and free cholesterol on either LDL or cell membrane surfaces).
Aminoguanidine is polar and water-soluble, so the surface of LDL is its most likely site of action. Oxidation products of surface cholesterol and phospholipids have been implicated in the effects of modified LDL on cells23 24 and may be scavenged by aminoguanidine. A protective effect of aminoguanidine at the LDL surface is consistent with our recent studies using vitamin E.25 Vitamin E is an amphiphilic antioxidant that resides on the surface of LDL, and presupplementation of LDL with vitamin E (before exposure to glycoxidative stress) abolishes the development of toxicity toward retinal capillary cells. We also found that ß-isoformspecific protein kinase C inhibitors abolish the toxic effects of modified LDL toward retinal cells.26 Overall, these data are consistent with a sequence in which lipid modification leads to activation of a membrane-dependent signaling pathway. Further studies on the effects of aminoguanidine on glycoxidative modification of the phospholipid and cholesterol components of the LDL surface (and also cell membranes) are needed.
Aminoguanidine present during LDL modification was removed by dialysis and was not present when cells were exposed to LDL. To test the effect of aminoguanidine in culture media, which contained physiological 5 mM glucose, we used a single concentration, 100 µM, similar to that found in vivo in plasma of treated animals3 and humans.14 We hypothesized that some toxicity might develop from cell-mediated oxidative modification of LDL or that previously modified LDL might be more susceptible to such damage. Also, inhibition of NOS9 or perhaps other enzymes might alter cell survival. We found no protective effect of aminoguanidine in culture media, and conclude that inhibition of cellular enzymes is not the mechanism for the beneficial effect of aminoguanidine in this model. Indeed, exposure of cells to 100 µM aminoguanidine resulted in a slight decrease in cell numbers. Nevertheless, the net effect of aminoguanidine present both during LDL modification and in culture media (the closest simulation of in vivo conditions) remained beneficial.
Several studies have addressed the effects of aminoguanidine on in vitro oxidizability of LDL, but are not directly comparable to our work: they used higher (by 10- to 50,000-fold) and often nonpharmacological aminoguanidine concentrations, and more severe copper (Cu2+)-mediated oxidative stress (Esterbauer technique). In our work, aminoguanidine, present during mild LDL modification but then removed by dialysis, had no effect on subsequent susceptibility of LDL to Cu2+-oxidation. In contrast, we found that when present during Cu2+-mediated oxidation, the same concentrations of aminoguanidine had a progressive pro-oxidant effect (data not shown), consistent with the observations of others.21
In conclusion, although results obtained from cell culture systems must be interpreted with caution, our findings may explain in part why aminoguanidine inhibits the development of experimental diabetic retinopathy. The protective effect we observed is mediated through an action on LDL modification, not on the cells themselves. The existence of a pathway leading from specific toxic LDL modifications through cell signaling processes to altered cell responses may proffer multiple opportunities for intervention. Aminoguanidine was protective at remarkably low concentrations, suggesting that doses lower than those generally used may be effective, reducing the risk of drug toxicity.
| Footnotes |
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Submitted for publication June 30, 1999; revised October 14, 1999; accepted November 30, 1999.
Commercial relationships policy: C5(TJL).
Corresponding author: Timothy J. Lyons, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Medical Genetics, Medical University of South Carolina, 171 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29425. lyonstj{at}musc.edu
| References |
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-(carboxymethyl)-lysine and N
-(carboxymethyl)-hydroxylysine in human skin collagen Biochemistry 30,1205-1210[Medline][Order article via Infotrieve]
-tocopherol mitigates adverse effects on cultured retinal capillary cells Curr Eye Res 19,137-145[Medline][Order article via Infotrieve]
-tocopherol (Abstract) Diabetologia 41(suppl 1),A280
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