Nitration
of the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 alters the
immune responses toward this protein, but the underlying chemical
mechanisms are not yet understood. Here we address the efficiency
and site-selectivity of the nitration reaction of recombinant protein
samples of Bet v 1.0101 with different nitrating agents relevant for
laboratory investigations (tetranitromethane, TNM), for physiological
processes (peroxynitrite, ONOO–), and for the health
effects of environmental pollutants (nitrogen dioxide and ozone, O3/NO2). We determined the total tyrosine nitration
degrees (ND) and the NDs of individual tyrosine residues (NDY). High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array
detection and HPLC coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis
of intact proteins, HPLC coupled to tandem mass spectrometry analysis
of tryptic peptides, and amino acid analysis of hydrolyzed samples
were performed. The preferred reaction sites were tyrosine residues
at the following positions in the polypeptide chain: Y83 and Y81 for
TNM, Y150 for ONOO–, and Y83 and Y158 for O3/NO2. The tyrosine residues Y83 and Y81 are located
in a hydrophobic cavity, while Y150 and Y158 are located in solvent-accessible
and flexible structures of the C-terminal region. The heterogeneous
reaction with O3/NO2 was found to be strongly
dependent on the phase state of the protein. Nitration rates were
about one order of magnitude higher for aqueous protein solutions
(∼20% per day) than for protein filter samples (∼2%
per day). Overall, our findings show that the kinetics and site-selectivity
of nitration strongly depend on the nitrating agent and reaction conditions,
which may also affect the biological function and adverse health effects
of the nitrated protein.