Several studies have revealed that various diseases such as cancer have been associated with elevated phospholipase A 2 (PLA 2 ) activity. Therefore, the regulation of PLA 2 catalytic activity is undoubtedly vital. In this study, effective inactivation of PLA 2 due to reactive species produced from cold physical plasma as a source to model oxidative stress is reported. We found singlet oxygen to be the most relevant active agent in PLA 2 inhibition. A more detailed analysis of the plasma-treated PLA 2 identified tryptophan 128 as a hot spot, rich in double oxidation. The significant dioxidation of this interfacial tryptophan resulted in an N-formylkynurenine product via the oxidative opening of the tryptophan indole ring. Molecular dynamics simulation indicated that the efficient interactions between the tryptophan residue and phospholipids are eliminated following tryptophan dioxidation. As interfacial tryptophan residues are predominantly involved in the attaching of membrane enzymes to the bilayers, tryptophan dioxidation and indole ring opening leads to the loss of essential interactions for enzyme binding and, consequently, enzyme inactivation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.