Production of brominating intermediates by myeloperoxidase. A transhalogenation pathway for generating mutagenic nucleobases during inflammation

The existence of interhalogen compounds was proposed more than a century ago, but no biological roles have been attributed to these highly oxidizing intermediates. In this study, we determined whether the peroxidases of white blood cells can generate the interhalogen gas bromine chloride (BrCl). Myeloperoxidase, the heme enzyme secreted by activated neutrophils and monocytes, uses H₂O₂ and Cl^- to produce HOCl, a chlorinating intermediate. In contrast, eosinophil peroxidase preferentially converts Br^- to HOBr. Remarkably, both myeloperoxidase and eosinophil peroxidase were able to brominate deoxycytidine, a nucleoside, and uracil, a nucleobase, at plasma concentrations of Br^- (100 μM) and Cl^- (100 mM). The two enzymes used different reaction pathways, however. When HOCl brominated deoxycytidine, the reaction required Br ^- and was inhibited by taurine. In contrast, bromination by HOBr was independent of Br^- and unaffected by taurine. Moreover, taurine inhibited 5-bromodeoxycytidine production by the myeloperoxidase-H ₂O₂-Cl^--Br^- system but not by the eosinophil peroxidase-H₂O₂-Cl^--Br^- system, indicating that bromination by myeloperoxidase involves the initial production of HOCl. Both HOCl-Br^- and the myeloperoxidase-H ₂O₂-Cl^--Br^- system generated a gas that converted cyclohexene into 1-bromo-2-chlorocyclohexane, implicating BrCl in the reaction. Moreover, human neutrophils used myeloperoxidase, H ₂O₂, and Br^- to brominate deoxycytidine by a taurine-sensitive pathway, suggesting that transhalogenation reactions may be physiologically relevant. 5-Bromouracil incorporated into nuclear DNA is a well known mutagen. Our observations therefore raise the possibility that transhalogenation reactions initiated by phagocytes provide one pathway for mutagenesis and cytotoxicity at sites of inflammation.