Previous Article | Next Article 
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, August 2004, p. 3006-3009, Vol. 48, No. 8
0066-4804/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AAC.48.8.3006-3009.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Nitric Oxide Generated from Isoniazid Activation by KatG: Source of Nitric Oxide and Activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Graham S. Timmins,1* Sharon Master,2 Frank Rusnak,3,
and Vojo Deretic2
College of Pharmacy, Toxicology Program,1
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131,2
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Section of Hematology Research, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota 559053
Received 7 January 2004/
Returned for modification 8 March 2004/
Accepted 2 April 2004

ABSTRACT
Isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH) is a frontline antituberculosis
agent. Once taken up by
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, INH requires
activation by the catalase-peroxidase KatG, converting INH from
its prodrug form into a range of bactericidal reactive species.
Here we used
15N-labeled INH together with electron paramagnetic
resonance spin trapping techniques to demonstrate that nitric
oxide (NO
·) is generated from oxidation at the hydrazide
nitrogens during the activation of INH by
M. tuberculosis KatG.
We also observed that a specific scavenger of NO
· provided
protection against the antimycobacterial activity of INH in
bacterial culture. No significant increases in mycobacterial
protein nitration were detected, suggesting that NO
· and not peroxynitrite, a nitrating metabolite of NO
·,
is involved in antimycobacterial action. In conclusion, INH-derived
NO
· has biological activity, which directly contributes
to the antimycobacterial action of INH.

INTRODUCTION
Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections cause 2 million deaths
every year and latently persist in over 1 billion individuals
worldwide (
33). Isoniazid (isonicotinic acid hydrazide [INH])
is a frontline antituberculosis agent that is prescribed daily
in millions of doses worldwide. While its mechanism(s) of action
and cellular targets continue to be uncovered (
16,
20), its
full range of effects on mycobacterial cells still remains to
be resolved (
14,
27). The tubercle bacillus is exceptionally
sensitive to INH (
7,
36), a prodrug, which is peroxidatively
activated by the
M. tuberculosis catalase-peroxidase KatG to
produce damaging species within the bacteria.
In keeping with the critical role of INH activation via KatG, the main site for mutations associated with resistance to INH is the katG gene (37). Several INH-derived intermediates generated during INH activation, such as isonicotinic acyl NADH (20) and mycobacterial targets including enzymes from the mycobacterial type II fatty acid synthase system (1, 16), have been identified. Other hypotheses regarding INH activation have focused upon INH-derived free radicals as important antimycobacterial intermediates (12, 24, 31). Despite this progress, the exact mechanism(s) of INH action that underlies its exceptional and specific potency against M. tuberculosis remains to be fully delineated, as multiple targets and pathways have been considered (7, 14, 17, 26).
NO· and other reactive nitrogen species have previously been demonstrated to have appreciable activity against M. tuberculosis (5, 15, 35). The immune response-derived NO· is considered to contribute to defenses against mycobacterial infection (22). In this study, we were prompted by reports indicating tyrosine nitration during oxidation of INH (29), NO· formation from hydroxyurea in vivo (11), and NO· formation during horseradish peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of hydroxyurea in vitro (10) to examine whether NO· is generated during INH activation by KatG. Based on partial molecular similarities between INH and hydroxyurea, we hypothesized that pathways might exist for NO· production from INH during its oxidation catalyzed by KatG.
Here we describe the previously unappreciated generation of nitric oxide during activation of INH from its prodrug form into reactive intermediates by the M. tuberculosis catalase-peroxidase KatG. We also present in vivo analysis indicating that NO· production during INH activation may potentially contribute to the antimycobacterial action of INH.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In vitro spin trapping of INH-derived NO.
A sensitive and NO
·-specific electron paramagnetic resonance
(EPR) spin trapping technique was used (
13). A 10 mM Fe
II (
N-methyl-
D-glucamine
dithiocarbamate)
2 complex was incubated with 0.471 mg of purified
M. tuberculosis H37Rv KatG (
30) ml
1 with 35 mM INH and
10 mM H
2O
2 in 10 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7, at 37°C for
5 min. [
15N
2,
15N
3]INH was synthesized by using the method of
Todorovic et al. (
28), and purity was confirmed by thin-layer
chromatography and
15N nuclear magnetic resonance.
N-methyl-
D-glucamine
dithiocarbamate was synthesized by the method of Shinobu et
al. (
23). EPR spectrometry of these incubations was performed
by using a Bruker Elexsys series spectrometer operating at X-band
frequencies, at 25°C with samples held in 20-µl capillaries.
Recombinant KatG was expressed in
Escherichia coli and purified
by chromatography on DEAE Sepharose CL-6B, Sephacryl S300-HR,
and MonoQ HR5/5 columns as previously described (
32).
Treatment of bacterial cultures with INH and NO· scavenger.
Exponentially growing cultures in aerobic roller bottles containing M. tuberculosis var. bovis BCG were exposed to 2 mM 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (CPTIO; a specific NO· scavenger) (Alexis Inc., Carlsbad, Calif.) and/or 3.7 µM INH for 7 days at 37°C. CPTIO alone had a minor effect, reducing viability by from 100% ± 6.3% to 68% ± 15.5% (number of cultures, 3; P < 0.05). CPTIO showed no interactions with INH as tested by EPR: the reaction of INH with the nitroxide functional group of CPTIO would cause a loss of EPR signal, and a reaction with the nitrone functional group of CPTIO would cause an alteration in the hyperfine coupling pattern. Bacterial cultures were serially diluted and plated on 7H11 plates for CFU determination.
Nitrotyrosine levels upon exposure to INH.
Exponentially growing cultures of M. tuberculosis var. bovis BCG were treated overnight with 73 µM INH with or without 1 mM plumbagin (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.) at 37°C. Cell extracts were obtained by bead beating with 0.1-mm zirconia beads (two 30-s cycles) in a Mini-Beadbeater (Biospec Products Inc., Bartsville, Okla.). Cell extracts were assayed for protein by the Pierce BCA kit (Pierce, Rockford, Ill.) and for nitrotyrosine by using the Hycult Biotechnology Hbt nitrotyrosine enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (Uden, The Netherlands).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
NO· production from KatG activation of INH.
We tested whether NO
· was produced during INH activation
in an in vitro system consisting of purified components. One
advantage of using purified and defined components is the elimination
of complications associated with complex mixtures that may contain
NADH and other chemical species known to complex with INH in
the presence of NAD-binding proteins (
20). NO
· production
was detected during KatG-mediated oxidation of INH in a reaction
mixture comprised of purified and previously characterized
M. tuberculosis H37Rv KatG (
31), INH, and H
2O
2 (
32) (Fig.
1a, spectrum
i). This mixture, consisting of purified components, was identical
to the previously published INH activation system (
31), with
the single modification of substituting the previously used
catalase-insensitive
t-butyl hydroperoxide (
31) with H
2O
2 at
concentrations bypassing the intrinsic catalase activity of
KatG. The identification of NO
· was based on the
14N
hyperfine coupling (1.25 mT) and
g value (2.04) and by comparison
with an authentic NO
· standard (not shown).
Conclusive confirmation that NO
· detected during oxidation
with KatG and H
2O
2 is derived from INH was obtained by synthesis
of INH containing the hydrazide group that was the doubly
15N-labeled
[
15N
2,
15N
3]INH. Using
15N-labeled INH in the KatG activation
system resulted in a characteristic transformation of the
14NO
· triplet spectrum (Fig.
1a) to a
15NO
· doublet EPR spectrum
(Fig.
1a, spectrum ii), with hyperfine coupling of 1.78 mT,
resulting from the different nuclear spins and gyromagnetic
ratios of
14N and
15N. The generation of NO
· in this
in vitro system was consistently reproducible and showed absolute
requirements for all components of the system: enzyme (KatG),
substrate (INH), and oxidant (H
2O
2) (Fig.
1b). No signals were
observed in the absence of the spin trap Fe(
N-methyl-
D-glucamine
dithiocarbamate)
2.
Biological activity of NO· generated during INH-derived NO· activation.
We next tested whether exposure of M. tuberculosis to NO· generated during the KatG oxidation of INH is potentially toxic to the bacteria. As a control, cultures of M. tuberculosis var. bovis BCG were treated with an NO· donor,2,2-(hydroxynitrosohydrazono)-bis-ethanamine (DETANONOate). Treatment with 1 mM DETA NONOate resulted in a 70% decrease in bacterial survival (Fig. 2a), in accord with the known potent action of NO· against M. tuberculosis (5, 15, 35). Next, M. tuberculosis was treated with INH in the presence or absence of the NO· scavenger CPTIO. CPTIO was chosen as it is a widely used and specific scavenger of NO· (19). Although hemoprotein NO· scavengers such as myoglobin and hemoglobin are effective, they were not used to avoid complications due to the addition of iron to the medium and also because they are capable of oxidatively activating INH themselves to form radicals (25). The addition of CPTIO to INH-treated cultures inhibited the killing of aerobically growing M. tuberculosis var. bovis BCG (Fig. 2b). CPTIO increased bacterial survival, relative to INH treatment in the absence of CPTIO, by 30-fold from 0.53 to 17.5% (Fig. 2b). A direct reaction between INH and CPTIO was excluded (assayed by EPR of the nitroxide CPTIO), confirming that the action of CPTIO was mediated by the scavenging of INH-derived NO· and not by a fortuitous sequestering or reaction with INH.
Analysis of biological indications for peroxynitrite formation.
NO
· is often thought to exert antimicrobial activity
through its reaction with superoxide (O
2·) to
form peroxynitrite, a reactive species capable of oxidizing
and nitrating biomolecules (
21). We examined the potential evidence
for peroxynitrite-mediated killing by determining the levels
of nitrotyrosine, a widely used marker for peroxynitrite formation
and damage (
2), in the proteins extracted from INH-treated
M. tuberculosis var.
bovis BCG. However, ELISAs of nitrotyrosine
in protein extracts from INH-treated
M. tuberculosis (Fig.
2c)
showed no increase above background levels. There was no increase
in nitrotyrosine even in the presence of plumbagin, a known
redox-cycling agent stimulating O
2· production
(
4), which is known to potentiate INH action (
3) and is thus
expected to increase peroxynitrite formation (which is formed
by reaction of O
2· and NO
·). Western blot
analysis (data not shown) also showed no increases in nitrotyrosine
levels above the background in
M. tuberculosis var.
bovis BCG
protein extracts upon INH treatment.

Conclusions
The studies presented here with
15N-labeled INH unequivocally
demonstrate that NO
· is generated from the INH hydrazide
group during activation by
M. tuberculosis KatG. A potential
pathway of NO
· formation is shown in Fig.
3, based upon
the known importance of the hydrogen at the hydrazide N
2 (i.e.,
a lack of substitution by alkyl or other groups) (
8) and the
requirement for oxygen for maximal INH activity (
34). However,
the reaction pathway after the N-O bond formation from the reaction
of the nitrogen-centered radical with oxygen (
9) is as yet unclear.
Our bacterial survival assays suggest that the NO
· generated
in vivo during oxidation of INH may have appreciable activity.
Although the NO
· scavenger CPTIO caused substantial protection
of mycobacteria against INH action, it is evident from the experimental
data that it did not fully protect
M. tuberculosis var.
bovis BCG against INH. This is consistent with the presence of other
known antimycobacterial products of INH, such as isonicotinic
acyl-NADH (
20). Alternatively, the incomplete protection by
CPTIO can be explained as resulting from any of the following:
(i) incomplete scavenging of NO
·, (ii) antimycobacterial
activity of one of the products of NO
· scavenging by
CPTIO, (iii) the activity of additional INH-derived radical
species (
31), and/or (iv) the slight effects of CPTIO on growth
itself. It should be acknowledged that it is unlikely that NO
· is the only product of INH contributing to its overall antituberculosis
action, as other studies have shown that INH-NAD adducts are
another class of major toxic products responsible for the antimycobacterial
action of INH (
1,
20). Nevertheless, the unambiguous generation
of NO
· from INH and its detectable effects on mycobacteria
suggest the possibility of enhancing this property of INH as
a potential strategy for generating new antituberculosis drugs.
Such ideas already have preliminary validation, as it has recently
been shown that the addition of NO
·-releasing groups
to ciprofloxacin greatly increases its activity against
M. tuberculosis (
6).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank E. J. H. Bechara and K. J. Liu for discussions on electronically
excited states in INH oxidation and radical mechanisms.
EPR facilities were provided by NCRR P20 RR15636. This work was supported by NIH grant AI42999.

FOOTNOTES
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: College of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87131. Phone: (505) 272-4103. Fax: (505) 272-6749. E-mail:
gtimmins{at}salud.unm.edu.

Deceased. 

REFERENCES
1 - Banerjee, A., E. Dubnau, A. Quemard, V. Balasubramanian, K. S. Um, T. Wilson, D. Collins, G. de Lisle, and W. R. Jacobs, Jr. 1994. inhA, a gene encoding a target for isoniazid and ethionamide in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Science 263:227-230.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2 - Beckmann, J. S., Y. Z. Ye, P. G. Anderson, J. Chen, M. A. Accavitti, M. M. Tarpey, and C. R. White. 1994. Extensive nitration of protein tyrosines in human atherosclerosis detected by immunohistochemistry. Biol. Chem. Hoppe-Seyler 375:81-88.[Medline]
3 - Bulatovic, V. M., N. L. Wengenack, J. R. Uhl, L. Hall, G. D. Roberts, I. F. Cockerill, and F. Rusnak. 2002. Oxidative stress increases susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to isoniazid. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 46:2765-2771.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
4 - Chan, E., and B. Weiss. 1987. Endonuclease IV of Escherichia coli is induced by paraquat. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:3189-3193.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
5 - Chan, J., Y. Xing, R. S. Magliozzo, and B. R. Bloom. 1992. Killing of virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis by reactive nitrogen intermediates produced by activated murine macrophages. J. Exp. Med. 175:1111-1122.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
6 - Ciccone, R., F. Mariani, A. Cavone, T. Persichini, G. Venturini, E. Ongini, V. Colizzi, and M. Colasanti. 2003. Inhibitory effect of NO-releasing ciprofloxacin (NCX 976) on Mycobacterium tuberculosis survival. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 47:2299-2302.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
7 - Deretic, V., E. Pagan-Ramos, Y. Zhang, S. Dhandayuthapani, and L. E. Via. 1996. The extreme sensitivity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to the front-line antituberculosis drug isoniazid. Nat. Biotechnol. 14:1557-1561.[CrossRef][Medline]
8 - Fox, H. H., and J. Y. Gibas. 1955. Synthetic tuberculostats IX. Dialkyl derivatives of isonicotinylhydrazine. J. Org. Chem. 20:60-69.
9 - Göttinger, H. A., V. E. Zubarev, and O. Brede. 1997. Low-temperature EPR study of the reaction of the 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl radical with molecular oxygen. Direct spectroscopic observation of an aminylperoxyl radical. J. Chem. Soc. Perkin Trans. I 2:2167-2171.
10 - Huang, J., E. M. Sommers, D. B. Kim-Shapiro, and S. B. King. 2002. Horseradish peroxidase catalyzed nitric oxide formation from hydroxyurea. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 124:3473-3480.[CrossRef][Medline]
11 - Jiang, J., S. J. Jordan, D. P. Barr, M. R. Gunther, H. Maeda, and R. P. Mason. 1997. In vivo production of nitric oxide in rats after administration of hydroxyurea. Mol. Pharmacol. 52:1081-1086.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
12 - Johnsson, K., and P. G. Schultz. 1994. Mechanistic studies of the oxidation of isoniazid by the catalase peroxidase from Mycobacterium-tuberculosis. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 116:7425-7426.[CrossRef]
13 - Komarov, A. M., and C. S. Lai. 1995. Detection of nitric oxide production in mice by spin-trapping electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1272:29-36.[Medline]
14 - Larsen, M. H., C. Vilcheze, L. Kremer, G. S. Besra, L. Parsons, M. Salfinger, L. Heifets, M. H. Hazbon, D. Alland, J. C. Sacchettini, and W. R. Jacobs. 2002. Overexpression of inhA, but not kasA, confers resistance to isoniazid and ethionamide in Mycobacterium smegmatis, M. bovis BCG and M. tuberculosis. Mol. Microbiol. 46:453-466.[CrossRef][Medline]
15 - Master, S. S., B. Springer, P. Sander, E. C. Boettger, V. Deretic, and G. S. Timmins. 2002. Oxidative stress response genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: role of ahpC in resistance to peroxynitrite and stage-specific survival in macrophages. Microbiology 148:3139-3144.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
16 - Mdluli, K., R. A. Slayden, Y. Zhu, S. Ramaswamy, X. Pan, D. Mead, D. D. Crane, J. M. Musser, and C. E. Barry III. 1998. Inhibition of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis beta-ketoacyl ACP synthase by isoniazid. Science 280:1607-1610.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
17 - Miesel, L., D. A. Rozwarski, J. C. Sacchettini, and W. R. Jacobs, Jr. 1998. Mechanisms for isoniazid action and resistance. Novartis Found. Symp. 217:209-220.[Medline]
18 - Nassi, L., and G. Cilento. 1984. Excitation of micelle-solubilized chlorophyll during the peroxidase-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of isonicotinic acid hydrazide. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 229:220-225.[CrossRef][Medline]
19 - Pieper, G. M., and W. Siebeneich. 1997. Use of a nitronyl nitroxide to discriminate the contribution of nitric oxide radical in endothelium-dependent relaxation of control and diabetic blood vessels. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 283:138-147.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
20 - Rozwarski, D. A., G. A. Grant, D. H. Barton, W. R. Jacobs, Jr., and J. C. Sacchettini. 1998. Modification of the NADH of the isoniazid target (InhA) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Science 279:98-102.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
21 - Rubbo, H., R. Radi, M. Trujillo, R. Telleri, B. Kalyanaraman, S. Barnes, M. Kirk, and B. A. Freeman. 1994. Nitric oxide regulation of superoxide and peroxynitrite-dependent lipid peroxidation. Formation of novel nitrogen-containing oxidized lipid derivatives. J. Biol. Chem. 269:26066-26075.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
22 - Scanga, C., V. Mohan, K. Tanaka, D. Alland, J. Flynn, and J. Chan. 2001. The inducible nitric oxide synthase locus confers protection against aerogenic challenge of both clinical and laboratory strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice. Infect. Immun. 69:7711-7717.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
23 - Shinobu, L., S. Jones, and M. Jones. 1984. Sodium N-methyl D-glucamine dithiocarbamate and cadmium intoxication. Acta Pharmacol. Toxicol. 54:189-194.[Medline]
24 - Shoeb, H. A., B. U. Bowman, A. C. Ottolenghi, and A. J. Merola. 1985. Enzymatic and nonenzymatic superoxide-generating reactions of isoniazid. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 27:408-412.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
25 - Sipe, H. J., A. R. Jaszewski, and R. P. Mason. 2004. Fast-flow EPR spectroscopic observation of the isoniazid, iproniazid, and phenylhydrazine hydrazyl radicals. Chem. Res. Toxicol. 17:234-242.[CrossRef][Medline]
26 - Slayden, R. A., and C. E. Barry III. 2000. The genetics and biochemistry of isoniazid resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Microbes Infect. 2:659-669.[CrossRef][Medline]
27 - Slayden, R. A., R. E. Lee, and C. E. Barry III. 2000. Isoniazid affects multiple components of the type II fatty acid synthase system of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mol. Microbiol. 38:514-525.[CrossRef][Medline]
28 - Todorovic, S., N. Juranic, S. Macura, and F. Rusnak. 1999. Binding of 15N-labeled isoniazid to KatG and KatG(S315T): use of two-spin [zz]-order relaxation rate for 15N-Fe distance determination. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 121:10962-10966.[CrossRef]
29 - Van Zyl, J. M., and B. J. Van der Walt. 1994. Apparent hydroxyl radical generation without transition metal catalysis and tyrosine nitration during oxidation of the anti-tubercular drug, isonicotinic acid hydrazide. Biochem. Pharmacol. 48:2033-2042.[CrossRef][Medline]
30 - Wengenack, N. L., M. P. Jensen, F. Rusnak, and M. K. Stern. 1999. Mycobacterium tuberculosis KatG is a peroxynitritase. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 256:485-487.[CrossRef][Medline]
31 - Wengenack, N. L., and F. Rusnak. 2001. Evidence for isoniazid-dependent free radical generation catalyzed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis KatG and the isoniazid-resistant mutant KatG(S315T). Biochemistry 40:8990-8996.[CrossRef][Medline]
32 - Wengenack, N. L., J. R. Uhl, A. L. St. Amand, A. J. Tomlinson, L. M. Benson, S. Naylor, B. C. Kline, F. R. Cockerill III, and F. Rusnak. 1997. Recombinant Mycobacterium tuberculosis KatG(S315T) is a competent catalase-peroxidase with reduced activity toward isoniazid. J. Infect. Dis. 176:722-727.[Medline]
33 - World Health Organization 2002. Report on infectious diseases. Removing obstacles to healthy development. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
34 - Youatt, J. 1969. A review of the action of isoniazid. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 99:729-749.[Medline]
35 - Yu, K., C. Mitchell, Y. Xing, R. S. Magliozzo, B. R. Bloom, and J. Chan. 1999. Toxicity of nitrogen oxides and related oxidants on mycobacteria: M. tuberculosis is resistant to peroxynitrite anion. Tuber. Lung Dis. 79:191-198.[CrossRef][Medline]
36 - Zhang, Y., S. Dhandayuthapani, and V. Deretic. 1996. Molecular basis for the exquisite sensitivity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to isoniazid. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:13212-13216.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
37 - Zhang, Y., B. Heym, B. Allen, D. Young, and S. Cole. 1992. The catalase-peroxidase gene and isoniazid resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Nature 358:591-593.[CrossRef][Medline]
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, August 2004, p. 3006-3009, Vol. 48, No. 8
0066-4804/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AAC.48.8.3006-3009.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Pagan-Ramos, E., Master, S. S., Pritchett, C. L., Reimschuessel, R., Trucksis, M., Timmins, G. S., Deretic, V.
(2006). Molecular and Physiological Effects of Mycobacterial oxyR Inactivation.. J. Bacteriol.
188: 2674-2680
[Abstract]
[Full Text]