Mechanism of attenuation of uranyl toxicity by glutathione in Lactococcus lactis

Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms possess mechanisms for the detoxification of heavy metals, which are found among distantly related species. We investigated the role of intracellular glutathione (GSH), which in a large number of taxa plays a role in the protection against the toxicity of common heavy metals. Anaerobically grown Lactococcus lactis containing an inducible GSH synthesis pathway was used as a model organism. Its physiological condition allowed study of putative GSH-dependent uranyl detoxification mechanisms without interference from additional reactive oxygen species. By microcalorimetric measurements of the metabolic heat during cultivation, it was shown that intracellular GSH attenuates the toxicity of uranium at a concentration in the range of 10-150 µM. In this concentration range, no effect was observed with copper which was used as a reference for redox-metal toxicity. At higher copper concentrations, GSH aggravated metal toxicity. Isothermal titration calorimetry revealed the endothermic binding of U(VI) to the carboxyl group(s) of GSH, rather than to the reducing thiol group involved in copper interactions. The data indicate that the primary detoxifying mechanism is the intracellular sequestration of carboxyl-coordinated U(VI) into an insoluble complex with GSH. The opposite effects on uranyl and on copper toxicity can be related to the difference in coordination chemistry of the respective metal-GSH complexes, which cause distinct growth phase-specific effects on enzyme metal interactions.