Reaction of tobacco smoke aldehydes with human hemoglobin

Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, isobutyraldehyde, and acrolein, all of which are constituents of tobacco smoke, were reacted in 5 mM concentration with the purified major fraction of normal adult human hemoglobin (hemoglobin Ao) in 1 mM concentration. A cigarette smoke condensate, diluted to contain 5 mM total aldehydes, was also reacted with 1 mM hemoglobin Ao. Cationic exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that the products formed from simple aliphatic aldehydes, with the exception of formaldehyde, were analogues of those formed from acetaldehyde, earlier shown by us to be imidazolidinone derivatives, that is, cyclic addition products of the N-terminal aminoamide function of alpha and beta chains. Formaldehyde and acrolein produced a heterogeneous mixture of derivatives including cross-linked hemoglobin dimers. The greater proportion of modified hemoglobins produced by condensate aldehydes resembled those formed from acetaldehyde, the most abundant aldehyde in the condensate. A smaller fraction consisted of cross-linked hemoglobin dimers, presumably due to the action of formaldehyde. Mass spectrometric and HPLC analyses of the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones precipitated from the condensate documented the presence of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, furfural, and methylfurfural. The toxicity of aldehydes is briefly discussed in the context of the findings of this study.