Edited by Ruma Banerjee The free radical nitric oxide (NO ⅐) exerts biological effects through the direct and reversible interaction with specific targets (e.g. soluble guanylate cyclase) or through the generation of secondary species, many of which can oxidize, nitrosate or nitrate biomolecules. The NO ⅐-derived reactive species are typically short-lived, and their preferential fates depend on kinetic and compartmentalization aspects. Their detection and quantification are technically challenging. In general, the strategies employed are based either on the detection of relatively stable end products or on the use of synthetic probes, and they are not always selective for a particular species. In this study, we describe the biologically relevant characteristics of the reactive species formed downstream from NO ⅐ , and we discuss the approaches currently available for the analysis of NO ⅐ , nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ⅐), dinitrogen trioxide (N 2 O 3), nitroxyl (HNO), and peroxynitrite (ONOO ؊ /ONOOH), as well as peroxynitrite-derived hydroxyl (HO ⅐) and carbonate anion (CO 3 ⅐ ؊) radicals. We also discuss the biological origins of and analytical tools for detecting nitrite (NO 2 ؊), nitrate (NO 3 ؊), nitrosyl-metal com

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Human Mn-containing superoxide dismutase (hMnSOD) is a mitochondrial enzyme that metabolizes superoxide radical (O2(•-)). O2(•-) reacts at diffusional rates with nitric oxide to yield a potent nitrating species, peroxynitrite anion (ONOO(-)). MnSOD is nitrated and inactivated in vivo, with active site Tyr34 as the key oxidatively modified residue. We previously reported a k of ∼1.0 × 10(5) M(-1) s(-1) for the reaction of hMnSOD with ONOO(-) by direct stopped-flow spectroscopy and the critical role of Mn in the nitration process. In this study, we further established the mechanism of the reaction of hMnSOD with ONOO(-), including the necessary re-examination of the second-order rate constant by an independent method and the delineation of the microscopic steps that lead to the regio-specific nitration of Tyr34. The redetermination of k was performed by competition kinetics utilizing coumarin boronic acid, which reacts with ONOO(-) at a rate of ∼1 × 10(6) M(-1) s(-1) to yield the fluorescence product, 7-hydroxycoumarin. Time-resolved fluorescence studies in the presence of increasing concentrations of hMnSOD provided a k of ∼1.0 × 10(5) M(-1) s(-1), fully consistent with the direct method. Proteomic analysis indicated that ONOO(-), but not other nitrating agents, mediates the selective modification of active site Tyr34. Hybrid quantum-classical (quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics) simulations supported a series of steps that involve the initial reaction of ONOO(-) with Mn(III) to yield Mn(IV) and intermediates that ultimately culminate in 3-nitroTyr34. The data reported herein provide a kinetic and mechanistic basis for rationalizing how MnSOD constitutes an intramitochondrial target for ONOO(-) and the microscopic events, with atomic level resolution, that lead to selective and efficient nitration of critical Tyr34.

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