The present invention relates to methods for detecting sulfenylation within
thiol groups in proteins, metabolites, or materials.
Protein sulfenylation (Cys-SOH) describes the reversible post-translational modification of
protein thiols by
hydrogen peroxide, and plays a central role in oxidative signaling (see, e.g., Paulsen, C. E. & Carroll, K. S. 2013 Chemical Reviews 113, 4633-679).
Growth factor stimulation activates
NADPH oxidase enzymes, releasing a local burst of
hydrogen peroxide, which transiently oxidizes the nuclcophilic
cysteine of
protein phosphatases and other proximal
redox active thiols (see, e.g., Paulsen, C. E. et al., 2012 Nature
Chemical Biology 8, 57-64). In addition to masking functional
cysteine's, sulfenylation is also a aitical intermediate towards irreversible
cysteine oxidation.