[Biochemistry] Ozone production by amino acids contributes to killing of bacteria

fDepartment of Physiology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-8640, Japan Edited by Richard A. Lerner, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, and approved September 18, 2008 (received for review August 12, 2008) Abstract Reactive oxygen species produced by phagocytosing neutrophils are essential for innate host defense against invading microbes. Previous observations revealed that antibody-catalyzed ozone formation by human neutrophils contributed to the killing of bacteria. In this study, we discovered that 4 amino acids themselves were able to catalyze the production of an oxidant with the chemical signature of ozone from singlet oxygen in the water-oxidation... [read full story]