Studies on the covalent binding of an intermediate(s) in prostaglandin biosynthesis to tissue macromolecules

We investigated the covalent binding of intermediates in prostaglandin biosynthesis to tissue macromolecules. Following incubation of [1-14C]arachidonic acid with the microsomal fraction from guinea pig lung, ram or bovine seminal vesicle, human platelets, rabbit kidney, or rat stomach fundus, the amount of covalent binding of arachidonic acid metabolites expressed as percentage of total arachidonic acid metabolized varied from tissue to tissue ranging from 3% in human platelets to 18.2% in ram seminal vesicles. In general, the thromboxane synthesizing tissues had less covalently bound metabolites than the other tissues. The amount of covalently bound metabolites was increased in the guinea pig lung microsomes when the thromboxane synthetase inhibitor, N-0164, was added to the incubation mixture. The covalent binding of arachidonic acid metabolite(s) was greatly reduced by the addition of glutathione to the incubation mixture. In addition to the covalently bound metabolites, water-soluble metabolites derived from arachidonic acid metabolism were also observed. The amount of water-soluble metabolites was small in each tissue except for the rat stomach fundus. In the rat stomach fundus the water-soluble metabolites accounted for over 50% of the total metabolites. Conditions which would tend to increase or decrease the levels of free prostaglandin endoperoxides during the incubation of arachidonic acid with the microsomes gave increased or decreased levels of covalent binding. Our data suggest that the prostaglandin endoperoxides are responsible for the covalent binding observed during prostaglandin biosynthesis. This covalent binding to tissue macromolecules may be of physiological and pathological significance.