Vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, macrophages, neutrophils, Kupffer cells and other diverse cell types generate superoxide (O2.-) and nitric oxide (.NO), which can react to form the potent oxidant peroxynitrite anion (ONOO-). Peroxynitrite reacted with luminol to yield chemiluminescence which was greatly enhanced by bicarbonate. The quantum chemiluminescence yield of the ONOO- reaction with luminol in bicarbonate was approx. 10(-3). Chemiluminescence was superoxide dismutase-inhibitable, indicating that O2.- was a key intermediate for chemiexcitation. O2.- appears to be formed secondarily to the reaction of a bicarbonate-peroxynitrite complex with luminol, yielding luminol radical and O2.-. Luminol radical reacts with O2.- to form the unstable luminol endoperoxide, which follows the light-emitting pathway. Neither .NO nor O2.- alone were capable of directly inducing significant luminol chemiluminescence in our assay systems. These results suggest that ONOO- can be a critical unrecognized mediator of cell-derived luminol chemiluminescence reported in previous studies. In addition, it is shown that bicarbonate can participate in secondary oxidation reactions after reacting with ONOO-.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
February 1993
- Cover Image
- PDF Icon PDF LinkFront Matter
- PDF Icon PDF LinkTable of Contents
- PDF Icon PDF LinkAdvertising
Research Article|
February 15 1993
Peroxynitrite-induced luminol chemiluminescence
R Radi;
R Radi
*Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233-6810, U.S.A.
†Biochemistry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233-6810, U.S.A.
Search for other works by this author on:
T P Cosgrove;
T P Cosgrove
*Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233-6810, U.S.A.
Search for other works by this author on:
J S Beckman;
J S Beckman
*Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233-6810, U.S.A.
Search for other works by this author on:
B A Freeman
B A Freeman
*Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233-6810, U.S.A.
†Biochemistry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233-6810, U.S.A.
§Pediatrics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233-6810, U.S.A.
Search for other works by this author on:
Biochem J (1993) 290 (1): 51–57.
Citation
R Radi, T P Cosgrove, J S Beckman, B A Freeman; Peroxynitrite-induced luminol chemiluminescence. Biochem J 15 February 1993; 290 (1): 51–57. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bj2900051
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign in to your personal account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.