The mechanisms for nitration and nitrotyrosine formation in vitro and in vivo: Impact of diet

The detection of 3-nitro-L-tyrosine residues associated with many disease s tates, including gastric cancer, has implicated a role for peroxynitrite in vivo, and thus endogenously produced nitric oxide and superoxide. Addition ally, dietary nitrate has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer through a mechanism involving reduction to nitrite and s ubsequent formation of potentially mutagenic nitrosocompounds. Studies have now demonstrated that a multitude of reactive nitrogen species other than peroxynitrite are capable of producing nitrotyrosine. Thus, we have reviewe d the evidence that dietary nitrate, amongst other reactive nitrogen specie s, may contribute to the body burden of nitrotyrosine.