The
most exciting new research involves photochemical reactions of catechols, a
class of molecules that include dopamine and catechin, a green tea antioxidant.
Para-quinones like Coenzyme Q are also of interest for our photochemistry work.
They can be photoreduced using chlorophyll metabolites and red light. Redox
reactions of these molecules can be both protective when they function as
antioxidants and possibly harmful when they produce reactive oxygen species such
as singlet oxygen, superoxide anion and H2O2. See links
to recent publications below.
Common techniques used in the lab
are: UV/Visible spectroscopy to study oxidation and reduction reactions,
fluorescence, thin layer chromatography, column chromatography for modified
glutathione isolation, labeling of proteins with fluorescent molecules.
The
new work is related to neurodegeneration because antioxidants have been viewed as
protective against diseases of aging. This more chemistry-focused work is
doable for undergraduate students who may have limited research experience. The
work also may be applicable for studying aquatic ecosystems where free
chlorophyll accumulates when algae and phytoplankton decompose.
In the area of protein
biochemistry, we studied some glycolytic enzymes especially pyruvate kinase,
GAPDH and lactate dehydrogenase to assess their sensitivity to oxidants. Recent
papers describe our work with LDH-A and LDH-B and the effects of singlet oxygen
and HOCl on catalysis.
Recent funding
William & Mary Green Fee Award William & Mary Green
Fee Award “Photochemical Reactions of Chlorophyll: Health and Environmental
Impacts” $15,000 for supplies and student summer salaries. May 2024-June 2026
William & Mary Green Fee Award “Connecting dietary
chlorophyll, sunlight, and increased antioxidants to healthy aging” Funding for
lab supplies. April 2021-April 2022.
NIH-AREA Award
renewal (2R15 NS038885-05) “Peroxynitrite Damage to Microtubule Proteins”
7/1/11-8/31/16, $415,200 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke (NINDS).
Select publications (undergraduate students
underlined)
Warsen,
Meredith G., Soren
Zimmer, Katherine Phan, and Lisa M. Landino. (2025)
"Photochemical Redox Reactions of 2,6-Dichlorophenolindophenol and Its Use
to Detect Photoreduced Quinones" Photochem 5, no. 3: 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/photochem5030019
Landino,
Lisa M., and Joseph A. Reed. (2025) "Photochemical Redox Cycling of
Naphthoquinones Mediated by Methylene Blue and Pheophorbide A" Molecules
30, no. 6: 1351. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30061351
Landino,
Lisa M. and Emily E. Lessard (2024) "Lactate Dehydrogenase-B
Oxidation and Inhibition by Singlet Oxygen and Hypochlorous Acid" Oxygen
4(4), 432-448. https://doi.org/10.3390/oxygen4040027
Phan,
Katherine, Emily E.
Lessard, Joseph A. Reed, Meredith G. Warsen, Soren Zimmer,
and Lisa M. Landino. (2024) "Concurrent Photooxidation and Photoreduction
of Catechols and Para-Quinones by Chlorophyll Metabolites" Photochem
4(3), 346-360. https://doi.org/10.3390/photochem4030021
Lisa M.
Landino, Lydia E. Boike, Taylor K. Lain “Inhibition of lactate
dehydrogenase-A by singlet oxygen and hypochlorous acid via cysteine oxidation
and irreversible conformational changes (2024) BioChem, 4(1),
18-37.
Lisa M.
Landino, Zachary T. Shuckrow, Alexander S. Mooney, Claire O.
Lauderback, Kristen E. Lorenzi. ”Photo-oxidation and photoreduction
of catechols by chlorophyll metabolites and methylene blue” (2022) Chem. Res. Toxicol. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrestox.2c00142
Lisa M. Landino,
Tara D. Hagedorn and Kelly L. Kennett “Evidence for
thiol/disulfide exchange reactions between tubulin and
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase” Cytoskeleton
(Wiley) 71 (2014), pp. 707-718.
Hillary M.
Clark, Tara D.
Hagedorn and Lisa M. Landino “Hypothiocyanous acid oxidation of tubulin
cysteines inhibits microtubule polymerization” Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics (Elsevier) 541C (2014), pp. 67-73.