Detection of autowave distribution of the concentration of a dinitrosyl iron complex with glutathione formed in an aqueous solution of S-nitrosoglutathione after addition of a mixture of glutathione and ferrous iron

The formation of dark green concentric autowaves of the distribution of the concentration of dinitrosyl iron complex (DNIC) with glutathione in a thin (0.3 mm thick) layer of 0.5 M solution of S-nitrosoglutathione in 15 mM HEPES buffer (pH 7.7) after applying on its surface a drop of a solution of glutathione (0.5 mM) and ferrous iron (1 mM) in the same buffer of volume 10 μL was detected. At regular intervals, the picture of autowaves changed in time intervals of 0.4–0.6 s over a period of 3 s after the application of the drop onto the solution. Then the structured picture of the distribution of DNIC dissipated, followed by a uniform green coloring of the solution caused by a uniform distribution of DNIC in it. It is assumed that the formation of autowaves is a consequence of the autooscillatory mode of the existence of a chemical system formed in a mixture of NO, low-molecular-weight thiols, and ferrous iron ions. DNIC with thiolate ligands and S-nitrosothiols arising in this system have a capacity for interconversion, and it is this process that may underlie the autooscillatory, autowave mode of functioning of the system. It is not ruled out that the existence of this system in cells and tissues of living organisms may provide the spatial and temporal organization of the regulation of the biological action of NO and its different endogenous compounds and derivatives.