A hypothesis for the mechanism of superoxide production by phagocytic cells

When arachidonic acid is reacted with Fe2+, the Fe2+ is oxidized to Fe3+, and lipid peroxides are formed as detected by absorption at 232 nm. However, there is a large discrepancy between the amount of arachidonic acid converted to stable oxidized products and the amount of Fe2+ converted to Fe3+. We suggest that under appropriate conditions, electrons from the ferrous iron may reduce oxygen to superoxide in the presence of arachidonic acid. The results are consistent with evidence using bromophenacyl-bromide suggesting that release of fatty acids from cell phospholipids might be required for phagocytes to synthesize superoxide.