Initiation of lipid peroxidation and the formation of bioactive eicosanoids are pivotal processes in inflammation and atherosclerosis. Currently, lipoxygenases, cyclooxygenases, and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases are considered the primary enzymatic participants in these events. Myeloperoxidase (MPO), a heme protein secreted by activated leukocytes, generates reactive intermediates that promote lipid peroxidation in vitro. For example, MPO catalyzes oxidation of tyrosine and nitrite to form tyrosyl radical and nitrogen dioxide ( ⅐ NO 2 ), respectively, reactive intermediates capable of initiating oxidation of lipids in plasma. Neither the ability of MPO to initiate lipid peroxidation in vivo nor its role in generating bioactive eicosanoids during inflammation has been reported. Using a model of inflammation (peritonitis) with MPO knockout mice (MPO ؊/؊ ), we examined the role for MPO in the formation of bioactive lipid oxidation products and promoting oxidant stress in vivo. Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was used to simultaneously quantify individual molecular species of hydroxy-and hydroperoxy-eicosatetraenoic acids (H(P)ETEs), F 2 -isoprostanes, hydroxy-and hydroperoxy-octadecadienoic acids (H(P)ODEs), and their precursors, arachidonic acid and linoleic acid. Peritonitis-triggered formation of F 2 -isoprostanes, a marker of oxidant stress in vivo, was reduced by 85% in the MPO ؊/؊ mice. Similarly, formation of all molecular species of H(P)ETEs and H(P)ODEs monitored were significantly reduced (by at least 50%) in the MPO ؊/؊ group during inflammation. Parallel analyses of peritoneal lavage proteins for protein dityrosine and nitrotyrosine, molecular markers for oxidative modification by tyrosyl radical and ⅐ NO 2 , respectively, revealed marked reductions in the content of nitrotyrosine, but not dityrosine, in MPO ؊/؊ samples. Thus, MPO serves as a major enzymatic catalyst of lipid peroxidation at sites of inflammation. Moreover, MPO-dependent formation of ⅐ NO-derived oxidants, and not tyrosyl radical, appears to serve as a preferred pathway for initiating lipid peroxidation and promoting oxidant stress in vivo.

Eosinophil recruitment and enhanced production of NO are characteristic features of asthma. However, neither the ability of eosinophils to generate NO-derived oxidants nor their role in nitration of targets during asthma is established. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry we demonstrate a 10-fold increase in 3-nitrotyrosine (NO2Y) content, a global marker of protein modification by reactive nitrogen species, in proteins recovered from bronchoalveolar lavage of severe asthmatic patients (480 ± 198 μmol/mol tyrosine; n = 11) compared with nonasthmatic subjects (52.5 ± 40.7 μmol/mol tyrosine; n = 12). Parallel gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses of bronchoalveolar lavage proteins for 3-bromotyrosine (BrY) and 3-chlorotyrosine (ClY), selective markers of eosinophil peroxidase (EPO)- and myeloperoxidase-catalyzed oxidation, respectively, demonstrated a dramatic preferential formation of BrY in asthmatic (1093 ± 457 μmol BrY/mol tyrosine; 161 ± 88 μmol ClY/mol tyrosine; n = 11 each) compared with nonasthmatic subjects (13 ± 14.5 μmol BrY/mol tyrosine; 65 ± 69 μmol ClY/mol tyrosine; n = 12 each). Bronchial tissue from individuals who died of asthma demonstrated the most intense anti-NO2Y immunostaining in epitopes that colocalized with eosinophils. Although eosinophils from normal subjects failed to generate detectable levels of NO, NO2−, NO3−, or NO2Y, tyrosine nitration was promoted by eosinophils activated either in the presence of physiological levels of NO2− or an exogenous NO source. At low, but not high (e.g., >2 μM/min), rates of NO flux, EPO inhibitors and catalase markedly attenuated aromatic nitration. These results identify eosinophils as a major source of oxidants during asthma. They also demonstrate that eosinophils use distinct mechanisms for generating NO-derived oxidants and identify EPO as an enzymatic source of nitrating intermediates in eosinophils.

—Protein nitration and lipid peroxidation are implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis; however, neither the cellular mediators nor the reaction pathways for these events in vivo are established. In the present study, we examined the chemical pathways available to monocytes for generating reactive nitrogen species and explored their potential contribution to the protein nitration and lipid peroxidation of biological targets. Isolated human monocytes activated in media containing physiologically relevant levels of nitrite (NO 2 − ), a major end product of nitric oxide ( • NO) metabolism, nitrate apolipoprotein B-100 tyrosine residues and initiate LDL lipid peroxidation. LDL nitration (assessed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry quantification of nitrotyrosine) and lipid peroxidation (assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography with online tandem mass spectrometric quantification of distinct products) required cell activation and NO 2 − ; occurred in the presence of metal chelators, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and scavengers of hypohalous acids; and was blocked by myeloperoxidase (MPO) inhibitors and catalase. Monocytes activated in the presence of the exogenous • NO generator PAPA NONOate ( Z -[ N -{3-aminopropyl}- N -{ n -propyl}amino]diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate) promoted LDL protein nitration and lipid peroxidation by a combination of pathways. At low rates of • NO flux, both protein nitration and lipid peroxidation were inhibited by catalase and peroxidase inhibitors but not SOD, suggesting a role for MPO. As rates of • NO flux increased, both nitrotyrosine formation and 9-hydroxy-10,12-octadecadienoate/9-hydroperoxy-10,12-octadecadienoic acid production by monocytes became insensitive to the presence of catalase or peroxidase inhibitors, but they were increasingly inhibited by SOD and methionine, suggesting a role for peroxynitrite. Collectively, these results demonstrate that monocytes use distinct mechanisms for generating • NO-derived oxidants, and they identify MPO as a source of nitrating intermediates in monocytes.

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.