Resolution of oxidative stress by thioredoxin reductase: Cysteine versus selenocysteine

Thioredoxin reductase (TR) catalyzes the reduction of thioredoxin (TRX), which in turn reduces mammalian typical 2-Cys peroxiredoxins (PRXs 1–4), thiol peroxidases implicated in redox homeostasis and cell signaling. Typical 2-Cys PRXs are inactivated by hyperoxidation of the peroxidatic cysteine to cysteine-sulfinic acid, and regenerated in a two-step process involving retro-reduction by sulfiredoxin (SRX) and reduction by TRX. Here transient exposure to menadione and glucose oxidase was used to examine the dynamics of oxidative inactivation and reactivation of PRXs in mouse C10 cells expressing various isoforms of TR, including wild type cytoplasmic TR1 (Sec-TR1) and mitochondrial TR2 (Sec-TR2) that encode selenocysteine, as well as mutants of TR1 and TR2 in which the selenocysteine codon was changed to encode cysteine (Cys-TR1 or Cys-TR2). In C10 cells endogenous TR activity was insensitive to levels of hydrogen peroxide that hyperoxidize PRXs. Expression of Sec-TR1 increased TR activity, reduced the basal cytoplasmic redox state, and increased the rate of reduction of a redox-responsive cytoplasmic GFP probe (roGFP), but did not influence either the rate of inactivation or the rate of retro-reduction of PRXs. In comparison to roGFP, which was reduced within minutes once oxidants were removed reduction of 2-Cys PRXs occurred over many hours. Expression of wild type Sec-TR1 or Sec-TR2, but not Cys-TR1 or TR2, increased the rate of reduction of PRXs and improved cell survival after menadione exposure. These results indicate that expression levels of TR do not reduce the severity of initial oxidative insults, but rather govern the rate of reduction of cellular factors required for cell viability. Because Sec-TR is completely insensitive to cytotoxic levels of hydrogen peroxide, we suggest TR functions at the top of a redox pyramid that governs the oxidation state of peroxiredoxins and other protein factors, thereby dictating a hierarchy of phenotypic responses to oxidative insults.