Interpreting the role of antioxidants in vivo: A cautionary tale.
Mol Microbiol
; 122(1): 129-132, 2024 07.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38960396
ABSTRACT
Bacteria have a remarkable ability to sense environmental stresses and to respond to these stressors by adapting their metabolism and physiology. In recent publications, investigators have suggested that multiple stresses that cause cell death share the mechanistic feature of stimulating the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). A central piece of evidence cited in these claims is the ability of exogenous antioxidant compounds to mitigate stress-related cell death. The validity of attributing a positive effect of exogenous antioxidants to ROS-mediated stress is challenged by an important study by Korshunov and Imlay in this issue of Molecular Microbiology. This study reports biochemical data that convincingly show that some commonly used antioxidants quench oxidants orders of magnitude too slowly to have a significant effect on the concentration of ROS in the cell. Under conditions where antioxidants minimize cell death, they also slow growth. Significantly, slowing cell growth by other means has the same restorative effect as adding an antioxidant. Based on the solid biochemical and genetic data, Korshunov and Imlay make the case for discarding the use of antioxidants to diagnose conditions that generate increased internal ROS production.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Especies Reactivas de Oxígeno
/
Antioxidantes
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mol Microbiol
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
/
MICROBIOLOGIA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos