Enhanced Toxicity of the Protein Cross-Linkers Divinyl Sulfone and Diethyl Acetylenedicarboxylate in Comparison to Related Monofunctional Electrophiles

Publication Date

2011

Document Type

Article

Issue

9

Abstract

Previously, we determined that diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DAD), a protein cross-linker, was significantly more toxic than analogous monofunctional electrophiles. We hypothesized that other protein cross-linkers enhance toxicity similarly. In agreement with this hypothesis, the bifunctional electrophile divinyl sulfone (DVSF) was 6-fold more toxic than ethyl vinyl sulfone (EVSF) in colorectal carcinoma cells and greater than 10-fold more toxic in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. DVSF and DAD caused oligomerization of yeast thioredoxin 2 (Trx2p) in vitro and promoted Trx2p cross-linking to other proteins in yeast at cytotoxic doses. Our results suggest that protein cross-linking is considerably more detrimental to cellular homeostasis than simple alkylation. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

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