Direct Measurement of Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) or Nitric Oxide (NO) Release: A Powerful Tool to Assess Real-time Free Radical Production in Biological Models

Abstract

Vascular endothelial dysfunction is a common and early event occurring in many disease conditions, such as ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, vascular complications of diabetes, and clinical procedures that injure blood vessels. The hallmark of endothelial dysfunction is reduced bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) and consequent increased free radical production. These radicals trigger the inflammatory response, a major contributor to tissue injury. Measuring free radical release in biological models facilitates assessment of the biochemical mechanisms responsible for regulating the production of these biomolecules. This technical review focuses on the application of real-time measurement of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) and NO release in models of I/R and blood vessel injury. The technique presents a valuable tool to study not only NO/H 2 O 2 release, but also to identify novel pharmacologic agents modifying that release.