Covalent Modification of Human Serum Albumin by the Natural Sesquiterpene Lactone Parthenolide

The reactivity of parthenolide (PRT), a natural sesquiterpene lactone from Tanacetum parthenium (Asteraceae), with human serum albumin (HSA) was studied by UHPLC/+ESI-QqTOF MS analysis after tryptic digestion of albumin samples after incubation with this compound. It was found that the single free cysteine residue, C34, of HSA (0.6 mM) reacted readily with PRT when incubated at approximately 13-fold excess of PRT (8 mM). Time-course studies with PRT and its 11β,13-dihydro derivative at equimolar ratios of the reactants revealed that PRT under the chosen conditions reacts preferably with C34 and does so exclusively via its α-methylene-γ-lactone moiety, while the epoxide structure is not involved in the reaction.