Oxidative cyclization, 1,4-benzothiazine formation and dimerization of 2-bromo-3-(glutathion-S-yl)hydroquinone

Several lines of evidence suggest that the renal-specific toxicity of quinol-linked GSH conjugates is probably a result of their metabolism by gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and selective accumulation by proximal tubular cells. Transport of the resultant quinol-cysteine and/or cystein-S-ylglycine conjugate followed by oxidation to the quinone may be important steps in the mechanism of toxicity of these compounds. Factors modulating the intracellular and/or intralumenal concentration of the cystein-S-yl and cystein-S-ylglycine conjugate will, therefore, be important determinants of toxicity. We have now studied the gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-mediated metabolism of 2-bromo-3-(glutathion-S-yl)hydroquinone. The product of this reaction, 2-bromo-3-(cystein-S-ylglycyl)hydroquinone, undergoes an intramolecular cyclization to yield a 1,4-benzothiazine derivative that retains the glycine residue. A similar cyclization reaction occurs with 2-bromo-3-(cystein-S-yl)hydroquinone, which is unstable in aqueous solutions and undergoes a pH-dependent rearrangement that requires initial oxidation to the quinone. UV spectroscopy revealed that, at neutral pH, further reaction results in the formation of a chromophore, consistent with 1,4-benzothiazine formation. This product arises via cyclization of the cysteine residue via an intramolecular 1,4 Michael addition. Further reaction results in the precipitation of a pigment that exhibits properties of a pH indicator. The pigment undergoes a marked pH-dependent bathochromic shift (approximately 100 nm); it is red in alkali (lambda max, 480 nm) and violet in acid (lambda max, 578 nm). These properties are similar to those of the trichochrome polymers that are formed during melanin biosynthesis from S-(3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine)-L-cysteine. Because the intramolecular cyclization reactions remove the reactive quinone moiety from the molecules, they may be regarded as detoxication reactions. 1,4-Benzothiazine formation represents a novel pathway that diverges from the usual route of mercapturic acid synthesis and may represent previously unrecognized and important products of quinone metabolism in vivo.