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SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE · MED

The specificity of neuroprotection by antioxidants.

J Biomed Sci · 2009-11-05

DOI: 10.1186/1423-0127-16-98PMID: 19891782

Open accessresearch-article; Journal ArticleOriginal source ↗

Research overview

The text below is the source article’s original abstract under a verified reuse license. cc by

BackgroundReactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in aging and age-related diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Much of the ROS production under conditions of toxic stress is from mitochondria, and multiple antioxidants prevent ROS accumulation. The aim of this study is to examine the specificity of the interaction between the antioxidants and ROS production in stressed cells.MethodsUsing fluorescent dyes for ROS detection and mitochondrial inhibitors of known specificities, we studied ROS production under three conditions where ROS are produced by mitochondria: oxidative glutamate toxicity, state IV respiration induced by oligomycin, and tumor necrosis factor-induced cell death.ResultsWe demonstrated that there are at least four mitochondrial ROS-generating sites in cells, including the flavin mononucleotide (FMN) group of complex I and the three ubiquinone-binding sites in complexes I, II and III. ROS production from these sites is modulated in an insult-specific manner and the sites are differentially accessible to common antioxidants.ConclusionThe inhibition of ROS accumulation by different antioxidants is specific to the site of ROS generation as well as the antioxidant. This information should be useful for devising new interventions to delay aging or treat ROS-related diseases.

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