Sulfide oxidation by a noncanonical pathway in red blood cells generates thiosulfate and polysulfides
V Vitvitsky, PK Yadav, A Kurthen, R Banerjee - Journal of Biological …, 2015 - jbc.org
A cardioprotectant at low concentrations, H 2 S is a toxin at high concentrations and inhibits
cytochrome c oxidase. A conundrum in H 2 S homeostasis is its fate in red blood cells
(RBCs), which produce H 2 S but lack the canonical mitochondrial sulfide oxidation pathway
for its clearance. The sheer abundance of RBCs in circulation enhances the metabolic
significance of their clearance strategy for H 2 S, necessary to avoid systemic toxicity. In this
study, we demonstrate that H 2 S generation by RBCs is catalyzed by mercaptopyruvate …
cytochrome c oxidase. A conundrum in H 2 S homeostasis is its fate in red blood cells
(RBCs), which produce H 2 S but lack the canonical mitochondrial sulfide oxidation pathway
for its clearance. The sheer abundance of RBCs in circulation enhances the metabolic
significance of their clearance strategy for H 2 S, necessary to avoid systemic toxicity. In this
study, we demonstrate that H 2 S generation by RBCs is catalyzed by mercaptopyruvate …
