ACTIVATION OF SOLUBLE GUANYLATE-CYCLASE BY CARBON-MONOXIDE AND INHIBITION BY SUPEROXIDE ANION

Human platelet soluble guanylate cyclase activity was studied with respect to the function of its heme-containing regulatory subunit. As an enzyme source, the 10000 x g supernatant was used and, since its specific activity proved to be too low for inhibition studies, also a partially purified preparation was employed. The partially purified enzyme was stimulated about 2.5-fold by carbon monoxide and this effect was abolished by illumination with visible light. Sodium nitroprusside also increased the basal activity about fourfold, which, however, is much less than the > 100-fold stimulation seen with the supernatant. Superoxide anions generated by the xanthine/xanthine-oxidase system were strongly inhibitory in the enriched preparation as well as in the CO-stimulated platelet supernatant (median effector concentration = 0.1 mU/ml). Unlike CO and NO, the effect of superoxide cannot be mediated through the heme-containing regulatory subunit, since heme-free enzyme, which could not be activated by NO or CO, was inhibited to the same extent as the heme-containing enzyme. Superoxide dismutase did not influence the basal activity, but resulted in a synergistic stimulation in the presence of CO. When Mn2+ replaced Mg2+ as a cofactor, the basal activity was higher but superoxide could not inhibit the enzyme, possibly due to the superoxide-dismutase-like activity of Mn2+. Superoxide turned out to be a potent and reversible inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase which, together with endothelium-derived relaxing factor, recently identified as NO, could form a physiologically relevant regulatory effector system.