Effects of oxidants and antioxidants evaluated using parinaric acid as a sensitive probe for oxidative stress

Parinaric acid (PnA) is a fluorescent polyunsaturated fatty acid which can be used as a probe to study lipid peroxidation processes. The basic methodology is simple and sensitive, and offers a direct ‘view’ of the oxidative decay of a fatty acid and the effects of prooxidant and antioxidant factors. A distinctive feature of the PnA assay is that it does not measure a lipid peroxidation end product, but monitors lipid oxidative stress in its initial stages. This review highlights the methodological characteristics of the PnA assay, and describes the various applications in which PnA and PnA derivatives have yielded useful information. These applications range from oxidant and antioxidant studies in lipid model systems to comparative studies of oxidation processes in normal and pathological red blood cells, and also include studies of lipoprotein oxidation.     

Tocopherylquinone and tocopherylhydroquinone

Abstract

Tocopherylquinone (TQ) is formed in the antioxidant action of tocopherol (T). TQ was found in human subjects and it was observed that the ratio αTQ/ αT increased in general with increasing oxidative stress. TQ is reduced to tocopheryl hydroquinone (TQH₂) but the ratio TQH₂/TQ in vivo has not been reported. TQH₂ acts as a potent radical-scavenging antioxidant. αTQH₂ is more reactive toward radicals than ubiquinol, a reduced form of coenzyme Q, and αT. The overall efficacy of TQH₂ as an antioxidant is determined by the fate of semiquinone radical formed from TQH₂ as well as the reactivity toward oxygen radicals. Partly substituted γTQ, but not αTQ, exerts cytotoxicity by both redox cycling and reaction with protein thiols and glutathione.     

Catalase modifies yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae response towards S-nitrosoglutathione-induced stress

Abstract

Nitric oxide is known to be a messenger in animals and plants. Catalase may regulate the concentration of intracellular ^?NO. In this study, yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells were treated with 1–20 mM S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), a nitric oxide donor, which decreased yeast survival in a concentration-dependent manner. In the wild-type strain (YPH250), 20 mM GSNO reduced survival by 32%. The strain defective in peroxisomal catalase behaved like the wild-type strain, while a mutant defective in cytosolic catalase showed 10% lower survival. Surprisingly, survival of the double catalase mutant was significantly higher than that of the other strains used. Incubation of yeast with GSNO increased the activities of both superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. Pre-incubation with cycloheximide prevented the activation of catalase, but not SOD. The concentrations of oxidized glutathione increased in the wild-type strain, as well as in the mutants defective in peroxisomal catalase and an acatalasaemic strain; it failed to do this in the mutant defective in cytosolic catalase. The activity of aconitase was reduced after GSNO treatment in all strains studied, except for the mutant defective in peroxisomal catalase. The content of protein carbonyls and activities of glutathione reductase and S-nitrosoglutathione reductase were unchanged following GSNO treatment. The increase in catalase activity due to incubation with GSNO was not found in a strain defective in Yap1p, a master regulator of yeast adaptive response to oxidative stress. The obtained data demonstrate that exposure of yeast cells to the ^?NO-donor S-nitrosoglutathione induced mild oxidative/nitrosative stress and Yap1p may co-ordinate the up-regulation of antioxidant enzymes under these conditions.     

… -ome sweet -ome

Abstract

Arsenic-induced tissue damage is a major concern to the human population. An impaired antioxidant defense mechanism followed by oxidative stress is the major cause of arsenic-induced toxicity, which can lead to reproductive failure. The present study was carried out to investigate the preventive role of arjunolic acid, a triterpenoid saponin isolated from the bark of Terminalia arjuna, against arsenic-induced testicular damage in mice. Administration of arsenic (in the form of sodium arsenite, NaAsO₂, at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight) for 2 days significantly decreased the intracellular antioxidant power, the activities of the antioxidant enzymes, as well as the levels of cellular metabolites. In addition, arsenic intoxication enhanced testicular arsenic content, lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation and the level of glutathione disulfide (GSSG). Exposure to arsenic also caused significant degeneration of the seminiferous tubules with necrosis and defoliation of spermatocytes. Pretreatment with arjunolic acid at a dose of 20 mg/kg body weight for 4 days could prevent the arsenic-induced testicular oxidative stress and injury to the histological structures of the testes. Arjunolic acid had free radical scavenging activity in a cell-free system and antioxidant power in vivo. In summary, the results suggest that the chemopreventive role of arjunolic acid against arsenic-induced testicular toxicity may be due to its intrinsic antioxidant property.     

Iron mobilization from ultraviolet-irradiated,iron-saturated,transferrin

SUMMARY

Transferrin is the major iron transport protein of mammalian plasma. The ultraviolet-B irradiation of 1.4 mg/ml iron saturated transferrin solutions (~32 μM Fe³⁺) induces a Fe³⁺ loss accompanied by Fe²⁺ formation. The initial quantum yield of Fe³⁺ loss is wavelength dependent (φ(313 nm)~1.3×10^?3) and oxygen independent suggesting an intramolecular electron transfer from one of the Fe³⁺ ligands. A photolysis of tryptophan residues parallels this photoreduction.     

Pycnogenol enhances endothelial cell antioxidant defenses

Summary

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), superoxide anion (O₂^?), and hydroxyl radical (OH^?) have been implicated in mediating various pathological events such as cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, ischemia, inflammatory diseases, and the aging process. The glutathione (GSH) redox cycle and antioxidant enzymes—superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)—play an important role in scavenging ROS and preventing cell injury. Pycnogenol has been shown to protect endothelial cells against oxidant-induced injury. The present study determined the effects of pycnogenol on cellular metabolism of H₂O₂ and O₂^? and on glutathione-dependent and -independent antioxidant enzymes in bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAEC). Confluent monolayers of PAEC were incubated with pycnogenol, and oxidative stress was triggered by hypoxanthine and xanthine oxidase or H₂O₂. Pycnogenol caused a concentration-dependent enhancement of H₂O₂ and O₂^? clearance. It increased the intracellular GSH content and the activities of GSH peroxidase and GSH disulfide reductase. It also increased the activities of SOD and CAT. The results suggest that pycnogenol promotes a protective antioxidant state by upregulating important enzymatic and nonenzymatic oxidant scavenging systems.     

The ERalpha/ERbeta ratio determines oxidative stress in breast cancer cell lines in response to 17Beta-estradiol

The effects of 17beta‐estradiol (E2) are mediated through activation of estrogen receptors (ER): ERalpha and ERbeta. It is known that ERalpha/ERbeta ratio is higher in breast tumors than in normal tissue. Since antioxidant enzymes and uncoupling proteins (UCPs) are reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial biogenesis regulators, our aim was to study the E2‐effect on oxidative stress, antioxidant enzyme expression, and UCPs in breast cancer cell lines with different ERalpha/ERbeta ratios. The lower ERalpha/ERbeta ratio T47D cell line showed low ROS production and high UCP5 levels. However, the higher ERalpha/ERbeta ratio MCF‐7 cell line showed an up‐regulation of antioxidant enzymes and UCPs, yet exhibited high oxidative stress. As a result, a decrease in antioxidant enzyme activities and UCP2 protein levels, coupled with an increase in oxidative damage was found. On the whole, these results show different E2‐effects on oxidative stress regulation, modulating UCPs, and antioxidant enzymes, which were ERalpha/ERbeta ratio dependent in breast cancer cell lines. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 3178–3185, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Vitamin E attenuates acute lung injury in sheep with burn and smoke inhalation injury

Abstract

Introduction: A decrease in α-tocopherol (vitamin E) plasma levels in burn patients is typically associated with increased mortality. We hypothesized that vitamin E supplementation (α-tocopherol) would attenuate acute lung injury induced by burn and smoke inhalation injury.

Materials and Methods: Under deep anesthesia, sheep (33 ± 5 kg) were subjected to a flame burn (40% total body surface area, third degree) and inhalation injury (48 breaths of cotton smoke, < 40°C). Half of the injured group received α-tocopherol (1000 IU vitamin E) orally, 24 h prior to injury. The sham group was neither injured nor given vitamin E. All three groups (n = 5 per group) were resuscitated with Ringer's lactate solution (4 ml/kg/%burn/24 h), and placed on a ventilator (PEEP = 5 cmH₂O; tidal volume = 15 ml/kg) for 48 h.

Results: Plasma α-tocopherol per lipids doubled in the vitamin E treated sheep. Vitamin E treatment prior to injury largely prevented the increase in pulmonary permeability index and moderated the increase in lung lymph flow (52.6 ± 6.2 ml/min, compared with 27.3 ± 6.0 ml/min, respectively), increased the PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio, ameliorated both peak and pause airway pressure increases, and decreased plasma conjugated dienes and nitrotyrosine.

Conclusions: Pretreatment with vitamin E ameliorated the acute lung injury caused by burn and smoke inhalation exposure.