The Contribution of Singlet Oxygen to Insulin Resistance

Figure 2

Formation of singlet oxygen (¹O₂) as a result of the facile conversion of peroxynitrite (1) to nitrosoperoxycarbonate (2), decomposition of the latter into carbonate and nitrogen dioxide radicals ((3) and (4), resp.) that convert glutathione (5) to glutathyl radical (6) [35, 60], reaction of (6) with oxygen to form peroxysulphenyl radical (7), and further reactions of the latter by a Russel-type mechanism to afford tetroxide (8), peroxide (9), oxidized glutathione (10), and ¹O₂ [44, 61]. Oxidized glutathione (10) can also be formed by the direct combination of two glutathyl radicals (6).