Investigating Antibody-Catalyzed Ozone Generation by Human Neutrophils

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 100; no. 6; pp. 3031 - 3034
• Main Authors: Babior, Bernard M., Takeuchi, Cindy, Ruedi, Julie, Gutierrez, Abel, Wentworth, Paul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 18.03.2003; National Acad Sciences; The National Academy of Sciences
• Series: From the Cover
• Subjects: Animals; Antibiotics; Antibodies; Antibodies - metabolism; Biological Sciences; Catalase - metabolism; Centrifugation; Fluorescence; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Indigo Carmine - metabolism; Isatin - analogs & derivatives; Isatin - metabolism; Leukocytes; Molecular Probes - metabolism; Neutrophils; Neutrophils - immunology; Neutrophils - metabolism; Oxidases; Oxidation; Oxidation-Reduction; Ozone; Ozone - metabolism; Physical Sciences; Styrenes - metabolism; Sulfonic acids; Ungulates
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0530251100

Recent studies have suggested that antibodies can catalyze the generation of previously unknown oxidants including dihydrogen trioxide (H2O3) and ozone (O3) from singlet oxygen (1O2*) and water. Given that neutrophils have the potential both to produce 1O2* and to bind antibodies, we considered that these cells could be a biological source of O3. We report here further analytical evidence that antibody-coated neutrophils, after activation, produce an oxidant with the chemical signature of O3. This process is independent of surface antibody concentration down to 50% of the resting concentration, suggesting that surface IgG is highly efficient at intercepting the neutrophil-generated 1O2*. Vinylbenzoic acid, an orthogonal probe for ozone detection, is oxidized by activated neutrophils to 4-carboxybenzaldehyde in a manner analogous to that obtained for its oxidation by ozone in solution. This discovery of the production of such a powerful oxidant in a biological context raises questions about not only the capacity of O3 to kill invading microorganisms but also its role in amplification of the inflammatory response by signaling and gene activation.