Effect of antioxidants on airway smooth muscle contraction: action of lipoic acid and some of its novel derivatives on guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle

The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of (a) antioxidants, some related to alpha-lipoic acid (LA), (b) histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, and (c) hybrid compounds possessing both alpha-lipoic acid-derived antioxidant properties and HDAC inhibitory activity to inhibit guinea pig smooth muscle contraction. Guinea pig isolated tracheal rings (GPTR) were prepared and their isometric tension measured using a transducer. Histamine, carbachol and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) served as agonists. Tests with antigen (ovalbumin) used GPTR from sensitised guinea pigs or rings from non-sensitised animals that had been incubated for at least 2 h with diluted serum from sensitised animals. All antioxidants tested showed a relaxant effect on resting tension and on tension induced by histamine or carbachol, with EC50(s) of 0.2-5.0 mM and a rank order of potency: LA derivatives > glutathione (GSH) > ascorbic acid (AA). However, low concentrations (< 50 mu M) of GSH, AA and LA potentiated histamine-induced contractions. The benzamide HDAC inhibitor MGCD0103 inhibited mast cell activation and GPTR contraction produced by antigen and certain agonists, although a 2-6 h pre-incubation was required for those effects to be apparent. Two LA-benzamide HDAC hybrid compounds, UCL M084 and UCL M109 inhibited GPTR contraction after 30 min pre-incubation; however, even after long pre-incubation (up to 6 h) those hybrid compounds showed less potent inhibition of agonist-induced contraction than did MGCD0103. The results showed that GSH more potently inhibited contraction induced by histamine than that induced by 5-HT or carbachol, whereas LA, and especially UCL M084 and UCL M109, more potently blocked contraction induced by carbachol and 5-HT than that induced by histamine. For GSH, and possibly also for LA-type compounds, the inhibition of agonist-induced tracheal smooth muscle contractions may be due to NO formation. This study did not detect a synergistic relaxant effect in two compounds incorporating the structural union of a benzamide HDAC inhibitor terminus with a LA-derived antioxidant moiety.