Tyrosine nitration as mediator of cell death.

Nitrotyrosine is used as a marker for the production of peroxynitrite and other reactive nitrogen species. For over 20 years the presence of nitrotyrosine was associated with cell death in multiple pathologies. Filling the gap between correlation and causality has proven to be a difficult task. Here, we discuss the evidence supporting tyrosine nitration as a specific posttranslational modification participating in the induction of cell death signaling pathways.