Involvement of superoxide anion in the reaction mechanism of haemoglobin oxidation by nitrite.

The sigmoidal time course of haemoglobin oxidation by nitrite, involving an initial slow reaction accompanied by a subsequent rapid reaction, was extensively explored. The initial slow reaction was much prolonged by the addition of superoxide dismutase to the reaction mixture. On the other hand, in the presence of superoxide anion generated by xanthine oxidase systems, the slow phase disappeared and the reaction changed to first-order kinetics. The oxidation of intermediate haemoglobins [defined as haemoglobin tetramer in which different chains (alpha- or beta-) are in the ferric state and in the ferrous state] such as (alpha 2+ beta 3+)2 and (alpha 3+ beta 2+)2 also proceeded in a sigmoidal manner. Similar effects of superoxide anion on these reactions were observed. Since the intermediate haemoglobins such as (alpha 2+ beta 3+)2 and (alpha 3+ beta 2+)2 were found to be produced by the oxidation of haemoglobin by nitrite, the changes in oxyhaemoglobin, intermediate haemoglobins and methaemoglobin during the reaction were followed by isoelectric-focusing electrophoresis. The amounts of (alpha 2+ beta 3+)2 were larger than those of (alpha 3+ beta 2+)2 at the initial stages of the reaction, suggesting that there is a functional difference between alpha- and beta-chains in the oxyhaemoglobin tetramer. On the basis of these results, a reaction model of the haemoglobin oxidation by nitrite was tentatively proposed. The changes in oxyhaemoglobin, intermediate haemoglobins and methaemoglobin were well fitted to the simulation curves generated from the reaction model. Details of the derivation of the equations used for kinetic analysis have been deposited as Supplement SUP 50112 (5 pages) with the British Library Lending Division, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ, U.K. from whom copies may be obtained on the terms indicated in Biochem. J. (1978) 169, 5.