Exosomes are emerging targets for biomedical research. However, suitable methods for the isolation of blood plasma-derived exosomes without impurities have not yet been described. Therefore, we investigated the efficiency and purity of exosomes isolated with potentially suitable methods; differential ultracentrifugation (UC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Exosomes were isolated from rat and human blood plasma by various UC and SEC conditions. Efficiency was investigated at serial UC of the supernatant, while in case of SEC by comparing the content of exosomal markers of various fractions. Purity was assessed based on the presence of albumin. We found that the diameter of the majority of isolated particles fell into the size range of exosomes, however, albumin was also present in the preparations, when 1h UC at 4°C was applied. Furthermore, with this method only a minor fraction of total exosomes could be isolated from blood as deduced from the constant amount of exosomal markers CD63 and TSG101 detected after serial UC of rat blood plasma samples. By using UC for longer time or with shorter sedimentation distance at 4°C, or UC performed at 37°C, exosomal yield increased, but albumin impurity was still observed in the isolates, as assessed by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and immunoblotting against CD63, TSG101 and albumin. Efficiency and purity were not different in case of using further diluted samples. By using SEC with different columns, we have found that although a minor fraction of exosomes can be isolated without significant albumin content on Sepharose CL-4B or Sephacryl S-400 columns, but not on Sepharose 2B columns, the majority of exosomes co-eluted with albumin. Here we show that it is feasible to isolate exosomes from blood plasma by SEC without significant albumin contamination albeit with low vesicle yield.

Cysteine hydropersulfide (CysSSH) occurs in abundant quantities in various organisms, yet little is known about its biosynthesis and physiological functions. Extensive persulfide formation is apparent in cysteine-containing proteins inEscherichia coliand mammalian cells and is believed to result from post-translational processes involving hydrogen sulfide-related chemistry. Here we demonstrate effective CysSSH synthesis from the substratel-cysteine, a reaction catalyzed by prokaryotic and mammalian cysteinyl-tRNA synthetases (CARSs). Targeted disruption of the genes encoding mitochondrial CARSs in mice and human cells shows that CARSs have a crucial role in endogenous CysSSH production and suggests that these enzymes serve as the principal cysteine persulfide synthases in vivo. CARSs also catalyze co-translational cysteine polysulfidation and are involved in the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and bioenergetics. Investigating CARS-dependent persulfide production may thus clarify aberrant redox signaling in physiological and pathophysiological conditions, and suggest therapeutic targets based on oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Significance: Disulfides are important building blocks in the secondary and tertiary structures of proteins, serving as inter- and intra-subunit cross links. Disulfides are also the major products of thiol oxidation, a process that has primary roles in defense mechanisms against oxidative stress and in redox regulation of cell signaling. Although disulfides are relatively stable, their reduction, isomerisation, and interconversion as well as their production reactions are catalyzed by delicate enzyme machineries, providing a dynamic system in biology. Redox homeostasis, a thermodynamic parameter that determines which reactions can occur in cellular compartments, is also balanced by the thiol–disulfide pool. However, it is the kinetic properties of the reactions that best represent cell dynamics, because the partitioning of the possible reactions depends on kinetic parameters. Critical Issues: This review is focused on the kinetics and mechanisms of thiol–disulfide substitution and redox reactions. It summarizes the challenges and advances that are associated with kinetic investigations in small molecular and enzymatic systems from a rigorous chemical perspective using biological examples. The most important parameters that influence reaction rates are discussed in detail. Recent Advances and Future Directions: Kinetic studies of proteins are more challenging than small molecules, and quite often investigators are forced to sacrifice the rigor of the experimental approach to obtain the important kinetic and mechanistic information. However, recent technological advances allow a more comprehensive analysis of enzymatic systems via using the systematic kinetics apparatus that was developed for small molecule reactions, which is expected to provide further insight into the cell's machinery. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 18, 1623–1641.

Aims: Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is suggested to act as a gaseous signaling molecule in a variety of physiological processes. Its molecular mechanism of action was proposed to involve protein S-sulfhydration, that is, conversion of cysteinyl thiolates (Cys-S⁻) to persulfides (Cys-S-S⁻). A central and unresolved question is how H₂S—that is, a molecule with sulfur in its lowest possible oxidation state (−2)—can lead to oxidative thiol modifications. Results: Using the lipid phosphatase PTEN as a model protein, we find that the “H₂S donor” sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) leads to very rapid reversible oxidation of the enzyme in vitro. We identify polysulfides formed in NaHS solutions as the oxidizing species, and present evidence that sulfane sulfur is added to the active site cysteine. Polysulfide-mediated oxidation of PTEN was induced by all “H₂S donors” tested, including sodium sulfide (Na₂S), gaseous H₂S, and morpholin-4-ium 4-methoxyphenyl(morpholino) phosphinodithioate (GYY4137). Moreover, we show that polysulfides formed in H₂S solutions readily modify PTEN inside intact cells. Innovation: Our results shed light on the previously unresolved question of how H₂S leads to protein thiol oxidation, and suggest that polysulfides formed in solutions of H₂S mediate this process. Conclusion: This study suggests that the effects that have been attributed to H₂S in previous reports may in fact have been mediated by polysulfides. It also supports the notion that sulfane sulfur rather than sulfide is the actual in vivo agent of H₂S signaling. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 19, 1749–1765.

Significance: Oxidative stress is thought to account for aberrant redox homeostasis and contribute to aging and disease. However, more often than not, administration of antioxidants is ineffective, suggesting that our current understanding of the underlying regulatory processes is incomplete. Recent Advances: Similar to reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species, reactive sulfur species are now emerging as important signaling molecules, targeting regulatory cysteine redox switches in proteins, affecting gene regulation, ion transport, intermediary metabolism, and mitochondrial function. To rationalize the complexity of chemical interactions of reactive species with themselves and their targets and help define their role in systemic metabolic control, we here introduce a novel integrative concept defined as the reactive species interactome (RSI). The RSI is a primeval multilevel redox regulatory system whose architecture, together with the physicochemical characteristics of its constituents, allows efficient sensing and rapid adaptation to environmental changes and various other stressors to enhance fitness and resilience at the local and whole-organism level. Critical Issues: To better characterize the RSI-related processes that determine fluxes through specific pathways and enable integration, it is necessary to disentangle the chemical biology and activity of reactive species (including precursors and reaction products), their targets, communication systems, and effects on cellular, organ, and whole-organism bioenergetics using system-level/network analyses. Future Directions: Understanding the mechanisms through which the RSI operates will enable a better appreciation of the possibilities to modulate the entire biological system; moreover, unveiling molecular signatures that characterize specific environmental challenges or other forms of stress will provide new prevention/intervention opportunities for personalized medicine. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 00, 000–000.

Protein Persulfide Detection Protocol reveals vital roles for thioredoxin and glutathione systems in maintaining sulfane sulfur homeostasis in cells and in vivo.