Isolevuglandins, a novel class of isoprostenoid derivatives, function as integrated sensors of oxidant stress and are generated by myeloperoxidase in vivo.

Isolevuglandins (isoLGs) are a family of reactive gamma-ketoaldehydes generated by free radical oxidation of arachidonate-containing lipids through the isoprostane pathway. Elevated plasma levels of isoLG protein adducts are observed in subjects with atherosclerosis compared with age/gender-matched controls. However, mechanisms for the generation of isoLGs in vivo are not established. Here we show that free radical-induced peroxidation promoted by the myeloperoxidase (MPO)/H2O2 system of leukocytes serves as one mechanism for the generation of isoLGs in vivo. Using a Candida sepsis model of inflammation, we demonstrate 3.5- and 2.7-fold increases in iso[4]LGE2 and isoLGE2 adducts of plasma proteins after pathogen exposure in wild-type mice. Plasma levels of F2 isoprostanes were not significantly increased after pathogen challenge in this model. MPO knockout mice demonstrated significant reductions (34%, P=0.003) in plasma levels of iso[4]LGE2 protein adducts after pathogen challenge compared with wild-type mice. Mass spectrometry and immunochemical methods demonstrate MPO-dependent formation of iso[4]LGE2 and isoLGE2 phospholipids and their corresponding isoLG protein adducts in model systems. The present studies thus identify MPO as one pathway for generation of isoLGs in vivo. They also suggest that long-lived protein isoLG adducts may serve as an alternative integrated sensor of oxidant stress in vivo.

A tale of two controversies: defining both the role of peroxidases in nitrotyrosine formation in vivo using eosinophil peroxidase and myeloperoxidase-deficient mice, and the nature of peroxidase-generated reactive nitrogen species.

Nitrotyrosine is widely used as a marker of post-translational modification by the nitric oxide ((.)NO, nitrogen monoxide)-derived oxidant peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)). However, since the discovery that myeloperoxidase (MPO) and eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) can generate nitrotyrosine via oxidation of nitrite (NO(2)(-)), several questions have arisen. First, the relative contribution of peroxidases to nitrotyrosine formation in vivo is unknown. Further, although evidence suggests that the one-electron oxidation product, nitrogen dioxide ((*)NO(2)), is the primary species formed, neither a direct demonstration that peroxidases form this gas nor studies designed to test for the possible concomitant formation of the two-electron oxidation product, ONOO(-), have been reported. Using multiple distinct models of acute inflammation with EPO- and MPO-knockout mice, we now demonstrate that leukocyte peroxidases participate in nitrotyrosine formation in vivo. In some models, MPO and EPO played a dominant role, accounting for the majority of nitrotyrosine formed. However, in other leukocyte-rich acute inflammatory models, no contribution for either MPO or EPO to nitrotyrosine formation could be demonstrated. Head-space gas analysis of helium-swept reaction mixtures provides direct evidence that leukocyte peroxidases catalytically generate (*)NO(2) formation using H(2)O(2) and NO(2)(-) as substrates. However, formation of an additional oxidant was suggested since both enzymes promote NO(2)(-)-dependent hydroxylation of targets under acidic conditions, a chemical reactivity shared with ONOO(-) but not (*)NO(2). Collectively, our results demonstrate that: 1) MPO and EPO contribute to tyrosine nitration in vivo; 2) the major reactive nitrogen species formed by leukocyte peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of NO(2)(-) is the one-electron oxidation product, (*)NO(2); 3) as a minor reaction, peroxidases may also catalyze the two-electron oxidation of NO(2)(-), producing a ONOO(-)-like product. We speculate that the latter reaction generates a labile Fe-ONOO complex, which may be released following protonation under acidic conditions such as might exist at sites of inflammation.