[Role of active forms of oxygen in inducing luminol-dependent chemiluminescence in macrophages]

The luminol-dependent chemiluminescence of mouse peritoneal macrophages during phagocytosis of opsonized zymosan was studied by using specific active oxygen scavengers and metabolic inhibitors. Extracellular hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion were shown to contribute immensely to the induction of the chemiluminescence. The role of the hydroxyl radical was rather insignificant, whereas singlet oxygen was not involved in this process. The interaction between luminol and peroxide was shown to be peroxidase-dependent. An inhibitory analysis revealed that the interaction between luminol, peroxide and superoxide anion obeyed a hybrid enzyme-free radical mechanism.