| Abstract |
Previous studies generally agree that in the blood serum vanadium is transported mainly by human serum transferrin (hTF). In this work through the combined use of electrochemical techniques, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data it is confirmed that both V-IV and V-V bind to apo-hTF and holo-hTF. The electrochemical behavior of solutions containing vanadate(V) solutions at pH = 7.0, analyzed by using two different voltammetric techniques, with different time windows, at a mercury electrode, Differential Pulse Polarography (DPP) and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), is consistent with a stepwise reduction of V-V -> V-IV and V-IV -> V-II. Globally the voltammetric data are consistent with the formation of 2:1 complexes in the case of the system V-V-apo-hTF and both 1:1 and 2:1 complexes in the case of V-V-holo-hTF; the corresponding conditional formation constants were estimated. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric data carried out with samples of (VOSO4)-O-IV, and apo-hTF and of (NH4VO3)-O-V with both apo-hTF and holo-hTF with V:hTF ratios of 3:1 are consistent with the binding of vanadium to the proteins. Additionally the SAXS data suggest that both (VOSO4)-O-IV and (NaVO3)-O-V can effectively interact with human apotransferrin, but for holo-hTF no clear evidence was obtained supporting the existence or the absence of protein-ligand interactions. This latter data suggest that the conformation of holo-hTF does not change in the presence of either (VOSO4)-O-IV or (NH4VO3)-O-V. Therefore, it is anticipated that V-IV or V-V bound to holo-hTF may be efficiently up taken by the cells through receptor-mediated endocytosis of hTF. |
