Myeloperoxidase leads the way toward safe and efficient antiseptics

MPO catalyses the conversion of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O) into hypochlorous acid (HOCI), which reacts with another H₂O, generating 10, This aggressive chemical species promptly reacts with the pathogen's molecular structure, triggering its oxidation and eventual destruction 'Phagocytosis is linked to the activation of NADPH oxidase resulting in respiratory burst metabolism and reduction of oxygen to radical products such as HO, and O,, explains Allen, 'disproportionation of these doublet multiplicity intermediates yields '0, and the hydrogen peroxide (H,O) that drives MPO oxidation of chloride (CI) to hypochlorite (OCI). The results demonstrate selective toxicity of MPO for cancer cells that is related to their anomalous physiology, le, Warberg effect, which causes their membrane to acquire an anionic (negative) charge, unlike healthy cells, which are charge neutral. Since MPC is a positively charged macromolecule, it binds preferentially to cancer cells and, in the presence of H₂O, generates 10,, which oxidises and destroys cell membrane components essential for their survival. Breakthroughs in MPO and EPO isolation and purifications allowed experimentation that demonstrated the selective binding of haloperoxidases to microbes and cancer cells. [...]damage is focused to the site of haloperoxidase binding with minimal bystander damage. [...]haloperoxidase action satisfies Fleming's position that an ideal antiseptic agent must selectively kill infecting microbes with minimal host cellular damage.