Intricacies of Redoxome Function Demonstrated with a Simple In vitro Chemiluminescence Method, with Special Reference to Vitamin B12 as Antioxidant

The homeostatic control of the redox system (the redoxome) in mammalian cells depends upon a large number of interacting molecules, which tend to buffer the electronegativity of cells against oxidants or reductants. Some of these components kill – at high concentration – microbes and by-stander normal cells, elaborated by professional phagocytes. We examined whether a simple, in vitro chemiluminescence set-up, utilizing redox components from human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and red blood cells (RBC), could clarify some unexplained workings of the redoxome. PMN or purified myeloperoxidase (MPO) triggers formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), quantified by light emission from oxidized luminol. Both PMN and RBC can generate abundant amounts of ROS, necessitating the presence of a high-capacity redoxome to keep the cellular electronegativity within physiological limits. We obtained proof-of-principle evidence that our assay could assess redox effects, but also demonstrated the intricacies of redox reactions. Simple dose–responses were found, as for the PMN proteins S100A9 (A9) and S100A8 (A8), and the system also revealed the reducing capacity of vitamin B12 (Cbl) and lutein. However, increased concentrations of oxidants in the assay mixture could decrease the chemiluminescence. Even more remarkable, A9 and NaOCl together stimulated the MPO response, but alone they inhibited MPO chemiluminescence. Biphasic responses were also recorded for some dose–response set-ups and are tentatively explained by a ‘balance hypothesis’ for the redoxome.