Superoxides

Magnesium and oxidative status were investigated in young volunteers exposed to chronic stress (political intolerance, awareness of potential military attacks, permanent stand-by duty and reduced holidays more than 10 years) or subchronic stress consisting of everyday mortal danger in military actions lasting more than 3 months. Significant decreases in plasma ionized Mg2+, total Mg and ionized Ca2+ concentrations were found in both groups. Similarly, both study groups exhibited oxidative stress as assessed by increased plasma superoxide anions and malondialdehyde and modified antioxidant defense. There were no significant differences between the two stress groups. A negative correlation between magnesium balance and oxidative stress was observed suggesting that the same etiological factor (chronic stress) initiate decreases in both free and total magnesium concentrations and simultaneously increase oxidative stress intensity. These findings support the need for magnesium supplement...

Considering the growing body of evidence that indicates the contribution of superoxide anions (O2) and other reactive oxygen species (ROS) to the development of hypertension, we assessed whether animal models of hypertension have a benefic effect with tempol, a superoxide dismutase mimetic, to help augment the design of future studies. Studies published between July 1998 and December 2012 on blood pressure (BP) in different hypertensive models were obtained after an electronic and manual search of PubMed. In-depth analyses of the methodological quality of the studies and the mean arterial pressure (MAP) changes after treatment with tempol were performed, as well as the subgroup analyses on the route of tempol delivery. Out of the 144 identified studies, 28 were included after screening. The data showed that tempol reduced MAP by computing the standardized mean difference with the value of 4.622 (95% confidence interval 3.24-5.99). The quality of studies included in the meta-analysis was category II; however, omission of details in the trials might have biased the results. There was substantial heterogeneity in the results with an I of 94.45%, which persisted after stratifying for the route of tempol delivery. In conclusion, this analysis shows that antioxidant treatment with tempol can reduce BP, suggesting that ROS plays a role in the pathogenesis of increased BP in the hypertension models used in the current research practice.

Normal and Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine-induced rabbit alveolar macrophage homogenates were fractionated by isopycnic density gradient centrifugation. Superoxide dismutase-inhibitable NAD(P)H-dependent nitro-blue tetrazolium reductase was found localised to endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. The normal macrophages tended to contain more of this activity than the BCG-induced macrophages. Two superoxide dismutases were found: cyanide-sensitive superoxide dismutase was predominantly present in the cytosol, with a small proportion in mitochondria; cyanide-resistant superoxide dismutase was found confined to mitochondria. Neither differed in specific activity betw-en the normal and BCG-induced macrophages.

We have investigated the activation of mouse peritoneal macrophages by injection of aclacinomycin (ACM). Macrophages from ACM-treated mice have an increased phagocytic activity as measured by Candida ingestion. The microbicidal activity indirectly evaluated by chemiluminescence and superoxide determination in response to stimulation with zymosan and 4 beta-phorbol-12-myristate-13 alpha-acetate is also greater in the cells from treated mice. Direct measurement of the cytostatic function, and of in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity shows comparable significant increases against L1210 or P815 target cells. The enhanced antitumoral activity could not be attributed to the residual presence of ACM in the peritoneal cells since no drug was detected by high-performance liquid chromatography and since their freeze-thaw lysates incubated with P815 cells did not modify the growth of tumor cells as measured by [3H]-thymidine incorporation. We also checked that the presence of ACM did not influence...

Fish oil has a preventive role in cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, but little is known about the effect of olive oil, which is widely consumed in Mediterranean regions. We examined the influence of dietary olive oil, corn oil and fish oil-rich diets on the production of superoxide anion (O2-) and nitric oxide (.NO) by resident macrophages stimulated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and their effect on arachidonic acid release, prostaglandin G/H synthase-2 (PGHS-2) expression and the subsequent prostaglandin E(2) production. Resident peritoneal macrophages stimulated by PMA from rats fed with olive oil or corn oil had the same level of O2- production, but these levels were increased by the fish oil diet. Olive oil and the fish oil diets increased .NO and decreased arachidonic acid mobilization and the production of prostaglandin E(2). PGHS-2 expression, however, was not affected by diet. We conclude that although olive oil and fish oil reduce arachidonic acid mobiliz...

The increased longevity in modern societies raised the attention to biological interventions that could promote a healthy aging. Mitochondria are main organelles involved in the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energetic substrate for cellular biochemical reactions. The production of ATP occurs through the oxidative phosphorylation of intermediate substrates derived from the breakdown of lipids, sugars, and proteins. This process is coupled to production of oxygen reactive species (ROS) that in excess will have a deleterious role in cellular function. The damage promoted by ROS has been emphasized as one of the main processes involved in senescence. In the last decades, the discovery of specialized proteins in the mitochondrial inner membrane that promote the uncoupling of proton flux (named uncoupling proteins-UCPs) from the ATP synthase shed light on possible mechanisms implicated in the buffering of ROS and consequently in the process of aging. UCPs are responsible...

This report describes a novel ECTO-NOX protein with an oscillating activity having a period length of ca. 26 min encountered with buffy coat fractions and sera of aged individuals (70-100 years) that generates superoxide as measured by the reduction of ferricytochrome c. The oscillating, age-related reduction of ferricytochrome c is sensitive to superoxide dismutase, is inhibited by coenzyme Q and is reduced or absent from sera of younger individuals (20-40 years). An oscillating activity with a regular period length is a defining characteristic of ECTO-NOX proteins (a group of cell surface oxidases with enzymatic activities that oscillate). The period length of ca. 26 min is longer than the period length of 24 min for the usual constitutive (CNOX) ECTO-NOX proteins of the cell surface and sera which neither generate superoxide nor reduce ferricytochrome c. The aging-related ECTO-NOX protein (arNOX) provides a mechanism to transmit cell surface oxidative changes to surrounding cells...

Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) involves absorption of photons being in the mitochondria of cells leading to improvement in electron transport, increased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and greater ATP production. Low levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced by LLLT in normal cells that are beneficial. We exposed primary cultured murine cortical neurons to oxidative stressors: hydrogen peroxide, cobalt chloride and rotenone in the presence or absence of LLLT (3 J/cm², CW, 810 nm wavelength laser, 20 mW/cm²). Cell viability was determined by Prestoblue™ assay. ROS in mitochondria was detected using Mito-sox, while ROS in cytoplasm was detected with CellRox™. MMP was measured with tetramethylrhodamine. In normal neurons LLLT elevated MMP and increased ROS. In oxidatively-stressed cells LLLT increased MMP but reduced high ROS levels and protected cultured cortical neurons from death. Although LLLT increases ROS in normal neurons, it reduces ROS in oxidatively...