Free radical and enzymatic mechanisms for the generation of protein bound reducing moieties.

We have previously shown that exposure of many proteins, and free aromatic amino acids (particularly tyrosine) to free radical fluxes generates a stable activity capable of reducing protein bound and free transition metal ions. Here we define the capacity of several radical generating systems (gamma irradiation of water, UV irradiation, metal-dependent sugar autoxidation and Haber-Weiss systems) to produce protein-bound reducing moieties (PBRedM), and also reducing derivatives of tyrosine. Under the defined conditions of the gamma radiolysis system, reductive activity was generated under both oxic and anoxic irradiations and specific gassing regimes as well as the inclusion of specific radical scavengers established that hydroxyl radicals were responsible. When BSA was irradiated anoxically in the presence of formate a reductive activity related to the exposure of protein thiol groups was generated; all other reductive activities we detected were not thiol-related. Incubations of tyrosinase with BSA or insulin also generated reductive activity. All the conditions we have studied can convert tyrosine into DOPA and we suspect that protein-bound DOPA is the main reductive activity generated on proteins.