p-Hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde Is the Major Product of L-Tyrosine Oxidation by Activated Human Phagocytes

Reactive aldehydes generated during lipid peroxidation have been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis as well as other inflammatory diseases. A potential catalyst for such reactions is myeloperoxidase, a hemeprotein secreted by activated phagocytes. We now report that activated neutrophils utilize the myeloperoxidase-H2O2-chloride system to convert L-tyrosine to p-hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde. Production of p-hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde was nearly quantitative at physiological concentrations of L-tyrosine and chloride. Aldehyde generation required myeloperoxidase, H2O2, L-tyrosine, and chloride ion; it was inhibited by the H2O2 scavenger catalase and by the heme poisons azide and cyanide. Phorbol ester- and calcium ionophore-stimulated human neutrophils likewise generated p-hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde from L-tyrosine by a pathway inhibited by azide, cyanide, and catalase. Aldehyde production accounted for 75% of H2O2 generated by optimally stimulated neutrophils at plasma concentrations of L-tyrosine and chloride. Collectively, these results indicate that activated phagocytes, under physiological conditions, utilize myeloperoxidase to execute the chloride-dependent conversion of L-tyrosine to the lipid-soluble aldehyde, p-hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde, in near quantitative yield. Moreover, like aldehydes derived from lipid peroxidation, amino acid-derived aldehydes may exert potent biological effects in vascular lesions and other sites of inflammation.