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J Biol Chem, Vol. 273, Issue 36, 22921-22928, September 4, 1998
§,
,
From the The involvement of oxidative stress in
freeze-thaw injury to yeast cells was analyzed using mutants defective
in a range of antioxidant functions, including Cu,Zn superoxide
dismutase (encoded by SOD1), Mn superoxide dismutase
(SOD2), catalase A, catalase T, glutathione reductase,
Cryopreservation provides an excellent way of preserving living
cells and storing them and has found wide application in medicine, agriculture, and food technology. However, the processes of freezing and thawing cause severe stress to cells and can lead to loss of
viability. There is, therefore, a need to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie freeze-thaw damage and how cells survive it or
respond to prevent it. A number of hypotheses have been proposed to
explain the damage caused by freezing and thawing; these are based on
an analysis of the physical and chemical changes that occur. For
example, cells are known to be damaged by physical changes associated
with ice nucleation and dehydration (1). They can also be affected by
accompanying changes in intracellular osmolarity and pH which lead to
aggregation of macromolecules (2) and denaturation of proteins (3, 4).
Oxidative damage has also been considered to be a factor since an
oxidative burst has been predicted to occur during thawing (5), and
this would lead to the generation of reactive oxygen species
(ROS)1 and oxidative damage
to cellular components. This is supported by the observation that
antioxidant defense systems of reptiles are activated by freezing
stress (5) and that overexpression of superoxide dismutase enhances the
freezing tolerance of transgenic Alfalfa (6). Moreover we have shown
that yeast cells can become more resistant to freeze-thaw damage
following treatment with a dose of hydrogen peroxide that causes cells
to adapt to further peroxide stress (7). Here we examine the extent to
which oxidative damage occurs during freezing and thawing of cells and
directly demonstrate the generation of ROS.
ROS are generated as an unavoidable side reaction in living systems
that rely on oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor during energy
generation. One primary product of electron leakage from the
respiratory chain is the superoxide anion (O Cells contain various enzymatic and non-enzymatic systems for
detoxifying ROS (15-17). One main defense system is provided by
superoxide dismutases that convert O Here we have exploited the availability of mutations affecting
oxidative stress response systems in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to characterize the nature and extent of oxidative stress encountered by cells during freezing and thawing. The mutations used included those in CTA1, CTT1,
SOD1, SOD2, and YAP1 which encodes a
transcriptional activator required for stress-induced expression of
several oxidative defense genes (13, 23), GSH1 which encodes
Strains and Culture Condition--
190 Yeast strains used are
described in Table I. The
rho0 respiratory-deficient strains, 1783rho0
and KS105rho0, were generated by treating 1783 and KS105
with ethidium bromide (24). The gsh1 deletion mutant, JL-3,
which was provided by J.-C. Lee (this laboratory) was isogenic to the
wild-type strain, CY4 (25, 26). Strains deleted for the various
antioxidant genes were made using the cta1::URA3
and ctt1::URA3 deletion plasmids donated by A. Hartig (Vienna) and the yap1::HIS3 deletion
plasmid donated by W. S. Moye-Rowley (23).
School of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics
and Cooperative Research Center for Food Industry Innovation,
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ABSTRACT
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Procedures
Results
Discussion
References
-glutamylcysteine synthetase and Yap1 transcription factor. Only
those affecting superoxide dismutases showed decreased freeze-thaw
tolerance, with the sod1 mutant and the sod1
sod2 double mutant being most affected. This indicated that
superoxide anions were formed during freezing and thawing. This was
confirmed since the sod1 mutant could be made more
resistant by treatment with the superoxide anion scavenger
MnCl2, or by freezing in the absence of oxygen, or by the
generation of a rho0 petite. Increased expression of
SOD2 conferred freeze-thaw tolerance on the
sod1 mutant indicating the ability of the mitochondrial superoxide dismutase to compensate for the lack of the cytoplasmic enzyme. Free radicals generated as a result of freezing and thawing were detected in cells directly using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy with either
-phenyl-N-tert-butylnitrone or
5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide as spin trap.
Highest levels were formed in the sod1 and sod1 sod2 mutant strains, but lower levels were detected in the wild type. The results show that oxidative stress causes major injury to
cells during aerobic freezing and thawing and that this is mainly
initiated in the cytoplasm by an oxidative burst of superoxide radicals
formed from oxygen and electrons leaked from the mitochondrial electron
transport chain.
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INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Procedures
Results
Discussion
References
2) generated by
the one-electron reduction of O2 (8, 9). This can also be
formed from other enzymatic systems including xanthine oxidase or NADPH
oxidase (8). The superoxide anion disturbs the redox balance of cells
by reducing and releasing metal ions from metal ion-clustered proteins
or is converted to other ROS including the peroxy radical
(HO
2) or H2O2 (10, 11). Reduced metal ions and H2O2 undergo the Fenton reaction
generating one of the most reactive ROS, the hydroxyl radical
(·OH). These ROS damage cells by reacting with many cellular
molecules including proteins, lipids, and DNA (12, 13). The generation of ROS is accelerated as an oxidative burst following ischemia and
reoxygenation since this stimulates the conversion of dehydrogenases to
oxidases and the introduction of excess O2 in the cell
cytoplasm (14). Freezing and thawing may form an analogous situation
since cells are isolated from O2 following freezing and are
re-oxygenated during thawing. This may be augmented by the attendant
dehydration and rehydration processes that result from the balancing of
vapor pressure between intra- and extracellular ice systems during
freezing and thawing (1).
2 to
H2O2 (18, 19) which is then disproportionated
to water by catalases or peroxidases (20). Yeast has two types of
superoxide dismutase (SOD). The Cu,Zn-SOD encoded by the
SOD1 gene is located in the cytoplasm; its level is
constitutively high (about 1% of soluble protein in the cell) during
fermentation and respiration (19). The Mn-SOD encoded by
SOD2 is located in the mitochondrial matrix, and from a low
level in fermentative cells it is induced during respiration (19) or
starvation (21). Other systems found in yeast include the cytoplasmic
catalase encoded by CTT1, the peroxisomal catalase encoded
by CTA1 (20), and the glutathione-based systems including glutathione itself and various peroxidases (22).
-glutamylcysteine synthetase, and GLR1 encoding glutathione reductase (22). Cu,Zn-SOD and Mn-SOD were found to be
involved in the recovery of cells from freeze-thaw injury, and this
enabled an indication of the nature of the major species causing
oxidative stress damage and where this damage occurred in the cells.
The role of SODs in the process was further analyzed using mutations
affecting mitochondrial activity, and the free radicals generated
during freeze-thaw injury in wild-type and sod mutants have
been detected and characterized using electron paramagnetic resonance
(EPR) spectroscopy.
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EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Procedures
Results
Discussion
References
Yeast strains used in this study
Plasmid Construction and Yeast Transformation-- Molecular techniques were carried out as described (28, 29). The SOD1 gene was isolated by polymerase chain reaction amplification of total yeast DNA with specific oligonucleotides (TCTCTCGCTGAACTTGTCCTTACC and GTGTTCCCTTTCTTGGTGTCTGTC), and from this a SacI/StuI cut fragment containing 722 bp of upstream untranslated region and 872 bp of coding and downstream untranslated region was cloned into the SacI/SmaI cut pRS425 vector (30). The plasmid pYEUMn (21) containing the intact SOD2 gene in YEp13 was used for overexpression. The intact CTT1 gene donated by H. Ruis was recloned into the BamHI/ClaI site of the pRS426 vector (30). The SOD2::lacZ fusion construct containing 558 bp of upstream untranslated region of SOD2 and 235 bp of coding sequence has been described (21). Yeast transformation was performed using the lithium acetate method (31). Integrative plasmids were linearized by cleavage at the StuI site within the URA3 gene prior to transformation. Correct single copy integration was checked by Southern blot analysis (data not shown). Transformants of sod1 mutant strain were maintained anaerobically as described above.
-Galactosidase Assays--
Assays for
-galactosidase were
carried out using
o-nitrophenyl-
-D-galactose (ONPG) as
substrate as described previously (32). Specific activity is expressed
as nanomoles of ONPG hydrolyzed per min
1
mg
1 protein. Protein concentrations were measured by the
Bio-Rad assay method as indicated by the manufacturer. All
determinations were the average of three independent experiments.
Freezing and Thawing Conditions--
Cells were harvested by
centrifugation and washed in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer
(pH 7.0) and suspended to an A600 of 3 in the
same buffer. Aliquots (0.3 ml) of cells were transferred into
thin-walled 1.5-ml polycarbonate tubes (Greiner Labortechnik) and
frozen at
20 °C for times indicated and then thawed at 4 °C for
40 min as described previously (7). Survival was determined by diluting
cells into YEPD medium at room temperature and plating on YEPD plates.
Data were determined in triplicate and the two-sample t test
was done where appropriate. Cells were grown at 30 °C for 2 days
before colony counting. Anaerobic freezing was performed as above
except that the buffer used for freezing was deoxygenated by sparging
with argon for 4 h before use.
Assay for Resistance to Paraquat (1,1-Dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridilium; Methyl Viologen)-- Cells cultured for 1 day were harvested and diluted to an A600 of 0.1 in fresh YEPD medium. 5 µl of each diluted culture was spotted onto YEPD plates containing either 0.1 or 0.2 mM paraquat and subsequently incubated at 30 °C for the required length of time to visualize phenotypic difference.
MnCl2 Pretreatment-- Cells were grown to an A600 of 1 in YEPD medium at 30 °C under the low aeration culture condition. MnCl2 was added to the culture to a final concentration of either 2 or 4 mM, and cells were cultured for 30 min before being subjected to the freeze-thaw process. MnCl2 was removed by washing cells twice before freezing.
EPR Spectroscopy--
Cells at exponential growth phase
(A600 = 1) were harvested and washed in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0). Cell density was
determined by measuring optical density and by colony counting. Cells
were then suspended to approximately 2×109 cells/ml in 500 µl of the same buffer containing spin trap agents, either 50 mM
-phenyl-N-tert-butylnitrone (PBN)
or 100 mM 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO). Samples were frozen at
20 °C for 2 h and thawed as
described above. Thawed samples were then either transferred to an EPR
flat cell or extracted into toluene. Toluene extracts were bubbled with
argon in cylindrical cells for 10 min prior to EPR measurement. The
increase in amplitude with time of the EPR signal of the radicals was
measured and expressed in arbitrary units per about 109
cells. All EPR spectra were obtained with a Bruker EMX X-band spectrometer using field modulation 100.00 kHz and either a standard rectangular (ER 4102 ST) or cylindrical (ER 4103 TM) cavity. Typical EPR spectrometer settings were as follows: gain 2 × 106 (DMPO) or 5 × 106 (PBN), modulation
amplitude 0.2 mT (DMPO) or 0.1 mT (PBN), conversion time 81 ms, time
constant 81 ms (DMPO) or 163 ms (PBN), sweep time 83 s, center
field 347.5 mT, field scan 8 mT, power 31 milliwatts (DMPO) or 50 milliwatts (PBN), frequency 9.722 GHz, temperature 294 K, with 8 scans
averaged.
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RESULTS |
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Freeze-Thaw Injury Is Most Extensive in Mutants with Defective
Cytoplasmic Cu,Zn-SOD--
We have previously shown that
H2O2 pretreatment could induce freeze-thaw
tolerance of yeast cells (7). Since such treatment induces cells to
adapt to oxidative stress, this indicated that ROS generated during
freezing and thawing may cause lethal damage to the cell. To test this
hypothesis, and determine which oxidative stress response systems are
involved in protecting cells from freeze-thaw damage, the tolerance of
a range of mutants affected in various aspects of the oxidative stress
response was examined. The mutants examined included those with null
mutations in YAP1, GSH1, GLR1,
CTA1, CTT1, SOD1, and SOD2,
as well as the sod1 sod2 double mutant. YAP1
encodes a transcriptional activator of several genes involved in
oxidative stress and detoxification of toxic compounds (13).
GSH1 and GLR1 are responsible for producing and
regenerating, respectively, the important antioxidant glutathione (22).
CTA1 encodes the peroxisomal catalase A and CTT1
the yeast cytosolic catalase which scavenge
H2O2 (20), whereas the SOD1 and
SOD2 gene products are the superoxide dismutases that
scavenge O
2 (18, 19). The freeze-thaw tolerance of each mutant
was compared with its isogenic wild type after growth to the
post-diauxic shift phase (48 h in YEPD) since wild-type cells have been
shown to be more resistant in this phase (7). The mutants affected in
the SOD genes showed a much greater sensitivity to
freeze-thaw stress than their isogenic wild-type strain 1783, whereas
the freeze-thaw sensitivity of the other oxidative stress mutants was
much less affected relative to their wild-type strain CY4 (Fig.
1). This sensitivity was very apparent in
the sod1 and sod1 sod2 double-mutant strains
although the sod2, gsh1, and glr1
mutants were slightly more sensitive than their isogenic wild-type
strains. Since the SOD1 gene product is located in the
cytoplasm, this indicates that freeze-thaw damage to cells involves
superoxide radicals rather than H2O2 or
compounds for which glutathione-based defense systems are important and
that prevention of the damage to cells is more dependent on the
cytoplasmic Cu,Zn-SOD than the mitochondrial Mn-SOD.
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2 scavenger (33, 34). From Fig.
2 it can be seen that pretreatment with 4 mM MnCl2 for 30 min led to a 3-fold increase in
the survival of the sod1 strain. The same treatment also
increased the freezing tolerance of the wild-type strain as might be
expected if free radicals were generated during freezing and thawing.
MgCl2 used at the same concentration as a divalent metal
ion control did not induce any freezing tolerance (data not shown). We
next examined the effects of overexpressing SOD1 and
SOD2 in the sod1 mutant. Although the effect of
SOD1 gene in multiple copies was not significantly different
(Fig. 3A; compare
pRS425SOD1 with pRS425), interestingly overexpression of
SOD2 (YEp13SOD2 with YEp13) led to a significant
increase in survival approaching that of the wild-type strain. This
indicates that higher levels of SOD in the mitochondrial compartment
can compensate for the lack of the cytoplasmic enzyme; this is
discussed later. The failure of the multi-copy SOD1 vector
to improve the tolerance of the sod1 mutant may have been
due to H2O2 produced due to the augmented activity of the cytoplasmic superoxide dismutase since in
Escherichia coli and Drosophila melanogaster
overproduction of superoxide dismutase increased sensitivity to
oxidative stress caused by paraquat (35, 36). We attempted to resolve
this point by using sod1 strains transformed with multiple
copy vectors carrying SOD1 and CTT1, but the
interpretation of these results was hampered by the differences in
growth rates of the various single and double transformants and the
inability to obtain strains carrying both vectors alone as a control.
On transforming the sod1 mutant containing the
SOD1 multi-copy vector with another vector carrying
CTT1, to remove excess H2O2, a
2-fold increase in survival was seen compared with that of the
sod1 mutant transformed with the SOD1 multi-copy
vector and the control plasmid pRS426. The overexpression of
CTT1 alone in the sod1 mutant did not affect its
freeze-thaw tolerance (data not shown). To confirm that the
SOD1 and SOD2 genes were overexpressed
sufficiently in the various constructs to affect cellular superoxide
levels, they were tested for their sensitivity to paraquat on YEPD
plates. From Fig. 3B it can be seen that the SOD1
and SOD2 constructs were resistant to paraquat and that
overexpression of both SOD1 and CTT1 conferred
the greatest resistance. Overexpression of both of the SOD enzymes was
also demonstrated by separating them from cell extracts using
polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and activity staining using nitro
blue tetrazolium (data not shown).
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2 generation during freezing or thawing.
Superoxide Dismutase Is Required during the Freeze-Thaw
Process--
To investigate whether freeze-thaw stress sensitivity of
the sod mutants was due to the accumulated oxidative damage
affecting cellular integrity, or to generation of O
2 during
the freeze-thaw process, the sod mutants and the wild-type
strain were grown under high or low aeration culture conditions, and
changes in freeze-thaw tolerance of the cells were followed. If the
freeze-thaw sensitivity of the sod mutants was due to the
accumulated damage, then high aeration culture would decrease freezing
tolerance by increased generation of ROS, and low aeration would do the
opposite. Under low aeration conditions the wild-type strain and the
sod mutants (except for the double-mutant) showed decreased
freeze-thaw tolerance, whereas under high aeration all strains except
for the double mutant showed an increase in freeze-thaw tolerance (Fig.
4). This indicated that the freeze-thaw
sensitivity of the sod mutants was probably not due to the
accumulation of oxidative damage during growth but was due to the lack
of superoxide dismutase activity during the freeze-thaw process. High
aeration may increase freeze-thaw tolerance by inducing the remaining
superoxide dismutase activity in each of the singly mutant strains
since this protection was not observed in the sod1 sod2
double mutant. This is addressed later. The general result led us to
test the effect of the oxidative burst induced by the freeze-thaw
process on cell survival.
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The Presence of Oxygen during Freeze-thaw Is Necessary for Damage
to Cells--
Since the sensitivity of the sod mutants was
probably due to decreased superoxide dismutase activity during the
freeze-thaw process itself, we tested whether an
oxygen-dependent oxidative burst occurs during the freezing
and thawing. The generation of ROS, specifically O
2, is
proportional to the amount of O2 available, and the
electrons leaked from the respiratory chain or other enzymatic reactions since the generation of O
2 is a first-order reaction with respect to the concentration of O2 or the electrons
leaked (37). Hence, we predicted that restricting the availability of
O2 should decrease generation of O
2, and this
should rescue the sod mutant cells from damage if an
oxidative burst occurs during the freeze-thaw process. We observed that
freezing and thawing the cells anaerobically rescued the
sod1 mutant which showed a similar level of freeze-thaw
tolerance to that of the wild-type strain (Fig.
5A). This indicated that the
freeze-thaw sensitivity of sod mutants is due to O
2
generated during an oxidative burst caused by the freeze-thaw process
and raised the question of the mechanism by which O
2 is
generated in cells during this process.
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O
2 Is Generated Mainly from the Mitochondrial Respiratory
Chain during the Oxidative Burst Caused by the Freeze-Thaw
Process--
We investigated which cellular system is the main source
of electrons to reduce O2 supplied during the oxidative
burst. Blocking or removing of cellular sources of electron leakage
should also rescue cells from freeze-thaw damage. To see if the
mitochondrial electron transport chain is the major site of electron
leakage, we generated respiratory-incompetent strains
(Rho0) of the wild-type and sod1 mutant strains
since electron leakage from the mitochondria does not occur in a
Rho0 petite (38). Once the sod1 mutant strain
was made petite, it completely recovered freeze-thaw tolerance (Fig.
5B) indicating that the mitochondrial electron transport
chain is the major site of electron leakage during the freeze-thaw
process.
A Complementary Relationship Exists between Cytoplasmic Cu,Zn-SOD and Mitochondrial Mn-SOD-- The major site of electron leakage during the freeze-thaw process appears to be the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Since high aeration during culture induced freeze-thaw tolerance in the sod1 and sod2 mutants but not in the sod1 sod2 double mutant (Fig. 4), we assumed that a superoxide dismutase induced by the high aeration culture condition may complement the absence of its counterpart. Hence, we integrated into a wild-type strain a SOD2::lacZ reporter construct and determined the expression of SOD2 under low and high aeration conditions. The expression of SOD2::lacZ increased more than 2-fold by the high aeration condition (Fig. 6) indicating that an increase of SOD2 expression under high aeration may contribute to the increased freeze-thaw tolerance of the sod1 mutant. As indicated earlier, transforming the sod1 mutant with a high copy plasmid containing SOD2 conferred freeze-thaw tolerance on the mutant (Fig. 3A) as well as resistance to paraquat (Fig. 3B). These results also indicated that SOD2 overexpression protected cells from freeze-thaw and oxidative damage, and there is therefore an ability of mitochondrial Mn-SOD to compensate for a lack of the cytoplasmic Cu,Zn-SOD despite the difference in their cellular location.
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Characterization of Radical Signals Generated by Freeze-Thaw
Stress--
The data presented above clearly implicate O
2, or
species arising from this radical, as damaging agents in freeze-thaw
injury. In order to confirm the generation of radical intermediates
during this process, EPR spectroscopy using the spin traps DMPO and PBN was employed, since this can directly detect radical species. Inclusion
of DMPO in cell cultures subjected to a standard freeze-thaw cycle
resulted in the detection of radical signals from both the sod1
sod2 and the sod1 mutant (Fig.
7; left) but not from the sod2 mutant or the wild-type cells subject to an identical
treatment; no signals were observed in non-frozen control samples from
any of these cells. The hyperfine coupling constant of the observed signal (a(N) = a(H) 1.49 mT) identifies this signal as being due to the species DMPO-OH. This
species is known to arise via a number of different pathways including
direct trapping of ·OH, via trapping of O
2 and
subsequent rapid decay of the DMPO-OOH adduct, as well as oxidation of
the spin trap and subsequent hydration of the radical cation (37).
Although the exact pathway that gives rise to this species cannot be
ascertained with certainty from the available data, these results are
in accord with the generation of free radical species in both the
sod1 mutant and sod1 sod2 double mutant. Similar
pathways may occur in the sod2 mutant or wild-type cells
during freeze-thaw cycles, but the free radical burden is reduced by
the Cu,Zn-SOD to low levels. There was no evidence for any type of cell
producing detectable free radicals in the absence of freezing.
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2 adducts that have much smaller a(H)
splittings (39) and are likely to be a secondary species arising from
reaction of the initial radical(s) with intracellular material.
Attempts to extract these spin adducts into organic solvents, such as
toluene, to aid spectroscopic analysis proved unsuccessful; this
implies that the radicals that had been added to the trap were
hydrophilic species and, on the basis of the isotropic lines detected,
of relatively low molecular mass.
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DISCUSSION |
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The results of this study show the involvement of Cu,Zn-SOD and
Mn-SOD in the freeze-thaw stress survival of yeast cells. They confirm
in a more direct way that oxidative stress is a cause of lethal damage
to cells, as has been suggested in other systems (5, 6), and further
show that the main damage in aerobic systems occurs in the cytoplasmic
compartment and results from generation of O
2. Of all the
genes involved in oxidative stress defense systems tested including
GSH1, GLR1, YAP1, CTA1, CTT1, SOD1, and SOD2 the
SOD genes, which scavenge mainly superoxides, were found to
be more involved in the defense against the damage caused by
freeze-thaw stress. GLR1, and GSH1, which
regulate glutathione metabolism, are less involved during the
freeze-thaw process since the deletion of these genes did not
significantly affect freeze-thaw tolerance nor did overexpression of
GSH1 or extracellular provision of glutathione (data not
shown). The result with the yap1 mutant was surprising since
yap1 mutants are sensitive to most other forms stress tested
(13, 23, 40). The deletion of CTA1 or CTT1 did
not affect freeze-thaw tolerance of yeast cells, indicating that
H2O2 is not generated extensively or that
absence of catalases can be compensated by other peroxidases in the
cell (11). Taken together, these results highlight that the rapid
removal of O
2 is the most important step for the oxidative
defense of cells during freeze-thaw stress. These results need to be
considered in the light of the fact that sod1 deletion
strains have pleiotropic behavior with respect to gene regulation and
other aspects of their physiology such as decreased invertase
production, changes in the cell division cycle (19), and changes in
divalent ions and metal ion homeostasis (50). However, the
demonstration that the effects of the sod1 mutation can be
reversed by removal of oxygen, the finding that MnCl2
treatment also improves the freezing tolerance of the wild-type as well
as of the sod1 mutant, and the direct demonstration of free
radicals in cells following freezing and thawing indicate that
oxidative damage due to free radical generation is a major component of
freeze-thaw damage.
Since the sod1 mutant showed higher sensitivity to
freeze-thaw stress than the sod2 mutant, it seems likely
that the main lethal damage occurs in the cytoplasm. Where then does
the O
2 originate? The reactivity of O
2 depends on
its environment since it is relatively stable in a hydrophobic
environment and can therefore continue to cause damage while it rapidly
disappears in a hydrophilic environment (41); it is relatively less
reactive than other ROS such as HO
2 or ·OH in aqueous
systems (11). Hence, whereas the oxidative damage during freeze-thaw
stress may be initiated by O
2, it is not likely that all the
subsequent effects in the cell are due directly to O
2, and
some cell damage will also result from the secondary ROS which are
formed spontaneously from O
2. Spontaneous disproportionation of O
2 into HO
2 (pKa = 4.8) or
H2O2 can occur, particularly at low pH (42,
43). Since we showed that O
2 appears to be generated largely
by the mitochondrial respiratory chain, these disproportionation
reactions may be possible due to a low pH maintained near the
mitochondrial membrane by the proton gradient. Moreover, there are
drastic changes in intracellular pH and osmolarity during freezing and
thawing, which form an acidic intracellular environment (44).
The EPR spectroscopy showed that free radical species are generated by
the freeze-thaw process and were consistent with O
2 formation
initiating oxidative stress during the process. Although the use of the
spin trap agent, DMPO, showed the presence of a signal from ·OH
in the sod1 and the sod1 sod2 double-mutant
strains, this signal probably resulted from the spontaneous
decomposition of DMPO-OOH adduct to DMPO-OH since O
2 is very
unstable even after adduct formation. This has been seen when DMPO was
used to detect the radical signals after menadione treatment (45). The
spontaneous disproportionation of O
2 into
H2O2 and subsequent generation of ·OH by
the Fenton reaction is unlikely since overexpression of CTT1
did not rescue the sod1 mutant from freeze-thaw stress or from oxidative stress caused by paraquat, indicating that in the absence of Cu,Zn-SOD spontaneous dismutation of O
2 into
H2O2 does not occur efficiently. The use of
another spin trap agent PBN, which has a broad spectrum for radicals,
showed significant generation of two different radical signals in the
sod1 mutant strain and the sod1 sod2 double
mutant strain but less in the sod2 mutant and the wild-type
strain which showed only a weak radical signal. This correlates with
the viability changes shown by these sod mutants. All of our
observations indicate that the radical chain reactions appear to occur
mainly in the cytosol, and some water-soluble components may be the
main targets of the chain reactions.
We conclude that the mitochondrial SOD can compensate for absence of
the other despite a difference in their cellular localization. This
raises a question about the direction of O
2 generation in mitochondria. Since O
2 is negatively charged, it cannot pass through the mitochondrial inner membrane by simple diffusion; however,
it may be transported into the cytosol through an anion channel (46).
It is also known that O
2 is generated bidirectionally, both
into the cytosol and the mitochondrial matrix (47). Intracellular damage caused by freezing and thawing may disturb the ability of the
cell to sequester O
2 in the mitochondrial matrix, and once
the O
2 level is beyond the capacity of the available Mn-SOD activity it may move out to the cytosol where the main damage is
initiated. Overexpression of the SOD2 gene would then
alleviate this problem. It is not likely that the de novo
precursor to Mn-SOD is active in the cytosol since removal of the
signal peptide during the incorporation into mitochondrial matrix is a
prerequisite for the formation of active Mn-SOD (48).
Here, we report that oxidative stress contributes to damage to cells
during the freeze-thaw process, that the damage is probably caused by
O
2, and can be prevented by the activity of the cytoplasmic SOD. The mechanisms whereby the radical propagates cell damage leading
to death during the freeze-thaw process remain to be elucidated. Our
work has provided a foundation to investigate these mechanisms in
detail.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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We thank V. C. Culotta, A. Hartig, W. S. Moye-Rowley, and H. Ruis for providing us with strains and plasmids.
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FOOTNOTES |
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* This work was supported in part by the Australian Research Council and the Cooperative Research Center (CRC) for Food Industry Innovation.The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
§ Supported by an Overseas Postgraduate Research Scholarship and the CRC for Food Industry Innovation.
To whom correspondence should be addressed: School of
Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia. Tel.: 61-2-9385-2089; Fax:
61-2-9385-1050; E-mail: I.Dawes{at}unsw.edu.au.
The abbreviations used are:
ROS, reactive oxygen
species; O
2, superoxide anionHO
2, hydroperoxy
radical·OH, hydroxyl radicalSOD, superoxide dismutaseYEPD, yeast extract peptone dextrose mediumSD, synthetic minimal dextrose
mediumONPG, o-nitrophenyl-
-D-galactosePBN,
-phenyl-N-tert-butylnitroneDMPO, 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxidebp, base pairmT, millitesla.
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