Scientists have discovered a new pathway for the formation of a kind of carbon-based molecule called peroxymonocarbonate, which is produced when CO2 reacts with hydrogen peroxide in cells. This groundbreaking finding unveils the health problems associated with exposure to high CO2 and might open up new routes to protect ourselves from those effects
The Strange Connection Between CO 2 and Bad Cell Function
There is no question that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere can influence our planet’s climate. Moreover, this study tells us that it affects the way our cells work.
The scientists discovered that CO2 can react with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a natural molecule in the human body, and generate a strong oxidant: peroxymonocarbonate. Although this substance has flown under the radar, it might be the dangerous material in our cels making a medley of other physiological problems such as inflammation and protein damage.
Recent studies are showing that peroxymonocarbonate is key both to the complex adaptive redox signaling in cells and to dysfunction, according to the study’s lead author Professor Ohara Augusto. And at this level of CO2 urban areas are getting to, there is an epidemiological history of a whole slew of physiological ills.’
Revolutionary Detection Process.
Historically, the detection of peroxymonocarbonate in cells has been difficult because it is present at low concentrations and forms slowly. But the researchers devised an innovative approach to locate this elusive oxidant with a molecular fluorescence tag that offers only the way of the probe.
By detecting fluorescence emanating from boronate probes, the team determined that macrophages (innate immunity cells) were only producing peroxymonocarbonate during exposure to CO2 rather than other oxidants including peroxynitrite or hypochlorous acid.
This is a pretty easy way to detect peroxymonocarbonate at physiological levels of hydrogen peroxide and CO2, Augusto noted. “Where it was previously impossible, researchers can now say conclusively that some effects they observe in cells — like proteins being oxidized more or the way a cell shows changes as a response to something — may be due to peroxymonocarbonate and they will be able to experimentally test this hypothesis,” Jackson said.
Conclusion
The identification of peroxymonocarbonate and a technique to visualize it in cells provides an important new piece to the jigsaw puzzle of how high CO2 levels lead to deleterious effects. This work brings to the forefront a hitherto ignored oxidant and provides tantalizing avenues for future work related to the role of CO2 desaturation in the cell damage and disease. Armed with this information, scientists and policy makers can begin to work to mitigate the impact that climate change will have on our bodies as well as our general welfare.
