Nonenzymatic hydroxylations of proline and lysine by reduced oxygen derivatives

Abstract

Reduced oxygen derivatives are shown to hydroxylate both free and polypeptide-bound proline and lysine, and scavengers of hydroxyl radicals suppress, but do not completely inhibit, this reaction. Reduced oxygen derivatives can be generated in normal and pathological circumstances; some of the low MW hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine peptides found in cell and organ cultures might be derived from these derivatives and, therefore, do not reflect collagen turnover, but rather some other cellular activity.