CONSPECTUS
The nitration of protein tyrosine residues to 3-nitrotyrosine represents an oxidative postranslational modification that unveils the disruption of nitric oxide (•NO) signaling and metabolism towards pro-oxidant processes. Indeed, excess levels of reactive oxygen species in the presence of •NO or •NO-derived metabolites lead to the formation of nitrating species such as peroxynitrite. Thus, protein 3-nitrotyrosine has been established as a biomarker of cell, tissue and systemic “nitroxidative stress”. Moreover, tyrosine nitration modifies key properties of the amino acid (i.e. phenol group pKa, redox potential, hydrophobicity and volume). Thus, the incorporation of a nitro group (−NO2) to protein tyrosines can lead to profound structural and functional changes, some of which contribute to altered cell and tissue homeostasis.
In this Account, I describe our current efforts to define 1) biologically-relevant mechanisms of protein tyrosine nitration and 2) how this modification can cause changes in protein structure and function at the molecular level. First, the relevance of protein tyrosine nitration via free radical-mediated reactions (in both peroxynitrite-dependent or independent pathways) involving the intermediacy of tyrosyl radical (Tyr•) will be underscored. This feature of the nitration process becomes critical as Tyr• can take variable fates, including the formation of 3-nitrotyrosine. Fast kinetic techniques, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies, bioanalytical methods and kinetic simulations have altogether assisted to characterize and fingerprint the reactions of tyrosine with peroxynitrite and one-electron oxidants and its further evolution to 3-nitrotyrosine. Recent findings show that nitration of tyrosines in proteins associated to biomembranes is linked to the lipid peroxidation process via a connecting reaction that involves the one-electron oxidation of tyrosine by lipid peroxyl radicals (LOO•).
Second, immunochemical and proteomic-based studies indicate that protein tyrosine nitration is a selective process in vitro and in vivo, preferentially directed to a subset of proteins, and within those proteins, typically one or two tyrosine residues are site-specifically modified. The nature and site(s) of formation of the proximal oxidizing/nitrating species, the physico-chemical characteristics of the local microenvironment and also structural features of the protein account for part of this selectivity. Then, how this relatively subtle chemical modification in one tyrosine residue can sometimes cause dramatic changes in protein activity has remained elusive. Herein, I will analyze recent structural biology data of two pure and homogenously nitrated mitochondrial proteins (i.e. cytochrome c and MnSOD) to illustrate regio-selectivity and structural effects of tyrosine nitration, and subsequent impact in protein loss- or even gain-of-function.