Toshio Nakaki and Tomoko Fujii
Department of Pharmacology, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo
173-8605, Japan
Abstract: Several lines of evidence have been accumulated for
occurrence of nitration in vivo. In this brief review, we summarized nitration
studies on functional changes of proteins, hormones and neurotransmitters,
before as well as after the discovery of peroxynitrite. Most of nitrated
molecules exhibit less active properties than the parental compounds. It
is still unknown whether nitration is merely a footprint of oxidative stress,
an important pathway of nitric oxide metabolisms or a part of integral processes
for maintaining cellular homeostasis.
Keywords: Nitration, Nitric oxide, Peroxynitrite, Tetranitromethane,
Hormone, Neurotransmitter, Tyrosine