INVESTIGATIONS ON THE LIGHT-EMITTING SPECIES IN THE REACTION OF METMYOGLOBIN AND METHEMOGLOBIN WITH HYDROGEN PEROXIDE

Abstract The formation of a compound I type ferryl complex in the reaction of methemoglobin (MetHb) and metmyoglobin (MetMyo) with hydrogen peroxide is accompanied by strong chemiluminescence. An approach to identify the nature of the light-emitting species was made by the use of quenchers and sensitizers reacting with singlet oxygen and compounds interfering in the formation and reactivity of other reactive oxygen species. Singlet oxygen is not the source of light emission. This could be concluded from the results obtained using the specific singlet oxygen trap 9,10-anthracenedipropionic acid (ADPA) in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The singlet oxygen adduct of ADPA was not formed in the incubation systems (MetHb or MetMyo/H₂O₂). Instead, ADPA was oxidized by the ferryl ion to a different oxidation product, which was characterized by HPLC and IR spectroscopy. In the case of MetHb-related chemiluminescence, light emission does not result from a single source. Both, SH-groups and O₂^.¯ radicals are involved because blocking of thiol-groups with N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) and scavenging of O₂^.¯(by superoxide dismutase) suppressed chemiluminescence by 50% and 30%, respectively. Development of MetMyo-related chemiluminescence is not dependent on thiol groups (which are not present in the globin moiety) and also 0₂^.¯is not involved. Although generation of chemiluminescence in MetHb and MetMyo seems to follow different mechanisms, both types of light-emitting species are sensitive to antioxidants, such as uric acid and ascorbate. The detection of the respective free radicals by means of ESR demonstrates that both MetHb- and MetMyo-mediated chemiluminescence is associated with a strong one-electron oxidizing species, which seems to be identical with the light-emitting source itself. Also desferal, which was originally used to exclude the involvement of a Fenton-type reaction, was readily oxidized to the nitroxide free radical associated with a strong decrease of chemiluminescence. This quenching effect was not dependent on iron complexation because the addition of iron was ineffective. In summary, chemiluminescence is not restricted to a single chemical process but is related to different one-electron transfer reactions from globin residues to the oxo-heme center.