OH-radical specific addition to the antioxidant glutathione S-atom at the air-water interface - Relevance to the redox balance of the lung epithelial lining fluid and the causality of adverse health effects induced by air pollution

Inhalation of oxidant pollutants upsets the redox balance (RB) of the lung epithelial lining fluid (ELF) by triggering the formation of reactive OH-radicals therein. RB is deemed to be controlled by the equilibrium between the most abundant ELF protective antioxidant glutathione (GSH) and its putative disulfide GSSG oxidation product. The actual species produced from the oxidation of GSH initiated by ·OH in ELF interfacial layers exposed to air, i.e., under realistic ELF conditions, however, were never identified. Here we report the online electrospray mass spectrometric detection of sulfenate (GSO-), sulfinate (GSO2-) and sulfonate (GSO3-) on the surface of aqueous GSH solutions collided with ·OH(g). We show that these products arise from ·OH specific additions to S-atoms, rather than via H-abstraction from GS-H. The remarkable specificity of ·OH in interfacial water vis-a-vis its lack of selectivity in bulk water implicates an unprecedented steering process during ·OH-GSH encounters at water interfaces. A non-specific systemic immune response to inhaled oxidants should be expected if they were initially converted into a common ·OH intermediate on the ELF (e.g., via fast Fenton chemistry) and oxidative stress signaled by the [GSH]/[GSOH] ratio.