The Chemical Biology of Hydrogen Sulfide

通过这一奖项，生命过程化学项目资助了索诺马州立大学的Jon Fukuto教授，以阐明硫化氢与各种可能的生物目标的化学相互作用。福藤实验室提出，生物产生的硫化氢的一个重要命运是形成蛋白质过硫化物(RSSH)。从化学角度来看，过硫化物有望具有独特的性质，可以改变硫醇蛋白质的功能，其方式是其他硫醇修饰物种所未知的。因此，蛋白质中过硫化物的产生和随后对蛋白质功能的影响可能是硫化氢生物学/信号转导的一个重要方面。值得注意的是，过硫化物的短暂性质也可能是它们生理用途的一个重要方面，有趣的是，它将排除它们作为生物相关物种的发现或承认。更广泛的影响包括本科生接触到化学生物学的跨学科研究。此外，硫化氢的基础生物化学研究预计将对更广泛的科学界产生影响。看来，NO和CO与H_2S一起，构成了一个由挥发性“第二信使”组成的完整且紧密交织的信号系统。也就是说，已报道的生物靶标的共性和可能的化学相互作用表明存在一种化学信号“网”。因此，有关硫化氢信号机制的信息有望有助于理解这一气态低分子量信号物种的网络。

With this award, the Chemistry of Life Processes Program is funding Professor Jon Fukuto of Sonoma State University to elucidate the chemical interactions of H2S with a variety of likely and possible biological targets. It is proposed by the Fukuto lab that an important fate of biologically generated H2S is the formation of protein persulfides (RSSH). From a chemical perspective, persulfides are expected to have unique properties that can alter thiol protein function in ways unknown with other thiol-modifed species. Thus, the generation of persulfides in proteins and subsequent effects on protein function may be an important aspect of H2S biology/signaling. Significantly, the ephemeral nature of persulfides may also be an important aspect of their physiological utility and, interestingly, would have precluded their discovery or recognition as a biologically relevant species.Broader impacts include the exposure of undergraduate students to interdisciplinary research in Chemical Biology. Moreover, fundamental biochemical studies of H2S are expected to have impact on the broader scientific community. It appears that NO and CO, together with H2S, constitute an integrated and intimately intertwined signaling system of volatile "second messengers". That is, reported commonality in biological targets and possible chemical interactions indicates a chemical signaling "web". Thus, information on H2S-signaling mechanisms is expected to contribute to the understanding of this network of gaseous low molecular weight signaling species.