In situ and real-time imaging of superoxide anion and peroxynitrite elucidating arginase 1 nitration aggravating hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury

Abstract Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is dynamically regulated by intertwined superoxide anion (O2 −)-peroxynitrite (ONOO−) cascaded molecules. Arginase 1 involves in O2 −/ONOO− fluctuations and is strongly connected to IR injury. A few probes have been innovated to measure intracellular O2 − or ONOO− by fluorescent imaging separately, but revealing the definite link of O2 −, ONOO− and arginase 1 in situ remains unidentified in hepatic IR. Thus, a well-designed dual-color two-photon fluorescence probe (CyCA) was created for the in situ real-time detection of O2 −-ONOO−. Surprisingly, CyCA exhibited a suitable combination of high specificity, preeminent sensitivity, exclusive mitochondria-targeting and fast-response. On the basis of remarkable advantages, we successfully applied CyCA to visualize endogenous O2 − and ONOO− in living cells and mice. The synergistic elevation of mitochondrial O2 −-ONOO− in IR mice was observed for the first time. Furthermore, three tyrosine nitration-sites in arginase 1 caused by ONOO− were identified in proteomic analysis, which was never reported previously. Attractively, nitro-modified arginase 1 could further promote ONOO− formation, ultimately exacerbating the intracellular redox imbalance and IR injury. These new findings decipher direct molecular links of O2 −-ONOO−-arginase 1, and suggest effective strategies for the prevention and treatment of IR injury.