Dansylglycine, a fluorescent probe for specific determination of halogenating activity of myeloperoxidase and eosinophil peroxidase

- Dansylglycine is susceptible to electrophilic attack of HOBr.
- Dansylglycine can be used to specific determination of halogenating activity of MPO.
- Dansylglycine can be used to specific determination of halogenating activity of EPO.
- Reversible and irreversible inhibitors of MPO can be differentiated using dansylglycine.
- By adequate pH choice, MPO activity can be distinguished from EPO.

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) are enzymes present in neutrophil and eosinophil leukocytes, respectively. Here, we present the development of a sensitive and specific assay for determination of the halogenating enzymatic activity of MPO and EPO based on the electrophilic attack of HOCl and HOBr on aromatic ring of dansylglycine (DG). We found that the intrinsic fluorescence of DG was promptly depleted by the action of these acids. In the presence of the enzymes, the fluorescence bleaching was dependent of chloride (Cl−) and bromide (Br−), which makes the assay able to distinguish the halogenating from the peroxidase activity. A linear correlation was obtained between the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration and the fluorescent decay. Similarly, the enzyme activity was measured by keeping constant H2O2. The method was applied for studding MPO/EPO specific inhibitors as 5-fluortryptamine (reversible inhibitor) and 4-hydroxybenzhydrazide (irreversible inhibitor). Differently of the taurine chloramine/3,3′,5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine assay, which is among the most used technique, the dansylglycine assay was able to differentiate these inhibitors based on their kinetic behavior. In conclusion, this assay can differentiate the peroxidase and halogenating activity of MPO and EPO. Moreover, the method is adequate for real-time measurement of the production of HOCl and HOBr.