NONSUPEROXIDE LUCIGENIN-ENHANCED CHEMILUMINESCENCE FROM PHOSPHOLIPIDSAND HUMAN SAPHENOUS VEINS

The use of lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL) for the detection of superoxide (O-2(.-)) has grown in popularity due to an increased d emand for a simple and specific system capable of measuring superoxide . In this study we report a lucigenin-CL signal emanating from human s aphenous veins (SV) that was not inhibited by superoxide dismutase (SO D) and lasted for more than 24 h. A larger CL-signal with similar prop erties was produced by saphenous veins that had been dehydrated. A sim ilar, non-SOD-inhibitable lucigenin-CL was also produced with a variet y of phospholipids and phosphatidic acid. The chemical moiety responsi ble for the phospholipid CL is oxygen dependent but remains unidentifi ed because a variety of lipids and phosphate containing species failed to produce such a signal. These results suggest that the use of lucig enin as a specific CL enhancer for O2(.-) must be clearly discriminate d with a specific O2(.-) inhibitor when used in biological systems.