Thioredoxin catalyzes the s-nitrosation of the caspase-3 active site cysteine

Douglas A. Mitchell, Michael A. Marletta

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) signaling through the formation of cGMP is well established; however, there seems to be an increasing role for cGMP-independent NO signaling. Although key molecular details remain unanswered, S-nitrosation represents an example of cGMP-independent NO signaling. This modification has garnered recent attention as it has been shown to modulate the function of several important biochemical pathways1-3. Although an analogy to O-phosphorylation can be drawn4, little is known about protein nitrosothiol regulation in vivo. In solution, NO readily reacts with oxygen to yield a nitrosating agent, but this process alone provides no specificity for nitrosation5. This lack of specificity is exemplified by the in vitro poly-S-nitrosation of caspase-3 (Casp-3, ref. 6) and the ryanodine receptor7.Previous in vivo work with Casp-3 suggests that a protein-assisted process may be responsible for selective S-nitrosation of the catalytic cysteine (Cys163)8. We demonstrated that a single cysteine in thioredoxin (Trx) is capable of a targeted, reversible transnitrosation reaction with Cys163 of Casp-3. A greater understanding of how S-nitrosation is mediated has broad implications for cGMP-independent signaling. The example described here also suggests a new role for Trx in the regulation of apoptosis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)154-158
Number of pages5
JournalNature chemical biology
Volume1
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2005
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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