Genotoxic effects of deoxynivalenol in broiler chickens fed low-protein feeds.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most abundant and important trichothecenes in food and feed, and it is a significant contaminant due to its frequent occurrence at toxicologically relevant concentrations worldwide. Deoxynivalenol has negative influences on the health and performance of chicks. However, there is little information available regarding the effect of DON on DNA fragmentation in blood lymphocytes. In addition, the effects of Mycofix select (Biomin GmbH, Herzogenburg, Austria) supplementation to DON-contaminated broiler diets on lymphocyte DNA have not yet been demonstrated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to establish the effect of DON on lipid peroxidation and lymphocyte DNA fragmentation in broilers and to evaluate the potential of Mycofix select in the prevention of toxin-mediated changes. Thirty-two 1-d-old (Ross 308 male) broiler chicks were randomly divided into 4 groups. The control group was fed a noncontaminated diet, and a second group was fed the same diet but supplemented with Mycofix select (0.25%). A third group of broilers was fed a diet artificially contaminated with 10 mg of feed-grade DON/kg of diet, and a fourth group was fed a DON-contaminated diet supplemented with Mycofix select. At the end of the feeding trial, blood was collected and the degree of lymphocyte DNA damage was measured in the plasma by comet assay. Deoxynivalenol increased (P = 0.016) the amount of DNA damage in chicken lymphocytes by 46.8%. Mycofix select protected lymphocyte DNA from the DON effects. To our knowledge, these are the first data on genotoxic effects of a moderate dose of DON on chicken lymphocytes. However, the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances level in liver and liver enzyme activity did not differ among the groups. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the diets contaminated with the mycotoxin DON at moderate levels in combination with low-protein feed are able to induce lymphocyte DNA damage in chickens. Supplementation with Mycofix select protected lymphocyte DNA and it was beneficial for maintaining the lymphocyte DNA integrity.

Activation of PPAR-delta in isolated rat skeletal muscle switches fuel preference from glucose to fatty acids.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: GW501516, an agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-delta (PPAR-delta), increases lipid combustion and exerts antidiabetic action in animals, effects which are attributed mainly to direct effects on skeletal muscle. We explored such actions further in isolated rat skeletal muscle. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Specimens of rat skeletal muscle were pretreated with GW501516 (0.01-30 mumol/l) for 0.5, 4 or 24 h and rates of fuel metabolism were then measured. In addition, effects on mitochondrial function were determined in isolated rat liver mitochondria. RESULTS: At concentrations between 0.01 and 1 mumol/l, GW501516 dose-dependently increased fatty acid oxidation but reduced glucose utilisation in isolated muscle. Thus after 24 h of preincubation with 1 mumol/l GW501516, palmitate oxidation increased by +46+/-10%, and the following decreased as specified: glucose oxidation -46+/-8%, glycogen synthesis -42+/-6%, lactate release -20+/-2%, glucose transport -15+/-6% (all p<0.05). Reduction of glucose utilisation persisted independently of insulin stimulation or muscle fibre type, but depended on fatty acid availability (the effect on glucose transport in the absence of fatty acids was an increase of 30+/-9%, p<0.01), suggesting a role for the glucose-fatty acid cycle. At higher concentrations, GW501516 uncoupled oxidative phosphorylation by direct action on isolated mitochondria. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: GW501516-induced activation of PPAR-delta reduces glucose utilisation by skeletal muscle through a switch in mitochondrial substrate preference from carbohydrate to lipid. High concentrations of GW501516 induce mitochondrial uncoupling independently of PPAR-delta.

Cell respiration and formation of reactive oxygen species: facts and artefacts.

It is generally taken as an established fact that mitochondrial respiration is associated with the generation of small amounts of ROS (reactive oxygen species). There are many arguments supporting this side activity. A major argument is the particular physico-chemical configuration of dioxygen, which prevents the transfer of a pair of electrons. Instead, oxygen is reduced by the successive transfer of single electrons, necessarily leading to intermediates with odd electrons. The high rate of turnover of oxygen in the respiratory chain in combination with the existence of single-electron carriers supports the concept of mitochondria as the major cellular ROS generator. Experimental evidence on the ability of mitochondria to generate ROS was, however, based essentially on in vitro experiments with isolated mitochondria. A variety of structural and functional alterations associated with the removal of mitochondria from the cell, as well as the routinely applied ROS detection methods, may lead to artefactual deviation of odd electrons to dioxygen. We therefore checked these correlations in view of ROS formation, including the often reported effect of the membrane potential on the establishment of a redox couple with oxygen out of sequence. For this purpose we developed novel methods to prove the authenticity of mitochondria for ROS generation in the living cell. Based on our experiments, we can exclude spontaneous release of ROS from mitochondria. However, we describe conditions under which mitochondria can be transformed to mild ROS generators. The site of single-electron deviation to dioxygen was found to be ubiquinol interacting with the Rieske iron-sulphur protein and low-potential cytochrome b of the bc (1) complex.

Kynurenines and the respiratory parameters on rat heart mitochondria.

It has been shown recently that the L-kynurenine metabolite kynurenic acid lowers the efficacy of mitochondria ATP synthesis by significantly increasing state IV, and reducing respiratory control index and ADP/oxygen ratio of glutamate/malate-consuming heart mitochondria. In the present study we investigated the effect of L-tryptophan (1.25 microM to 5 mM) and other metabolites of L-kynurenine as 3-hydroxykynurenine (1.25 microM to 2.5 mM), anthranilic acid (1.25 microM to 5 mM) and 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid (1.25 microM to 5 mM) on the heart mitochondria function. Mitochondria were incubated with saturating concentrations of respiratory substrates glutamate/malate (5 mM), succinate (10 mM) or NADH (1 mM) in the presence or absence of L-tryptophan metabolites. Among tested substances, 3-hydroxykynurenine, 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid and anthranilic acid but not tryptophan affected the respiratory parameters dose-dependently, however at a high concentration, of a micro molar range. 3-Hydroxykynurenine and 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid lowered respiratory control index and ADP/oxygen ratio in the presence of glutamate/malate and succinate but not with NADH. While, anthranilic acid reduced state III oxygen consumption rate and lowered the respiratory control index only of glutamate/malate-consuming heart mitochondria. Co-application of anthranilic acid and kynurenic acid (125 or 625 microM each) to glutamate/malate-consuming heart mitochondria caused a non-additive deterioration of the respiratory parameters determined predominantly by kynurenic acid. Accumulated data indicate that within L-tryptophan metabolites kynurenic acid is the most effective, followed by anthranilic acid, 3-hydroxykynurenine, 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid to influence the respiratory parameters of heart mitochondria. Present data allow to speculate that changes of kynurenic acid and/or anthranilic acid formation in heart tissue mitochondria due to fluctuation of L-kynurenine metabolism may be of functional importance for cardiovascular processes. On the other hand, beside the effect of 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid and 3-hydroxykynurenine on respiratory parameters, their oxidative reactivity may contribute to impairment of mitochondria function, too.

The multiple functions of coenzyme Q.

The coenzyme function of ubiquinone was subject of extensive studies in mitochondria since more than 40 years. The catalytic activity of ubiquinone (UQ) in electron transfer and proton translocation in cooperation with mitochondrial dehydrogenases and cytochromes contributes essentially to the bioenergetic activity of ATP synthesis. In the past two decades UQ was recognized to exert activities which differ from coenzyme functions in mitochondria. From extraction/reincorporation experiments B. Chance has drawn the conclusion that redox-cycling of mitochondrial ubiquinone supplies electrons for univalent reduction of dioxygen. The likelihood of O2(.-) release as normal byproduct of respiration was based on the existence of mitochondrial SOD and the fact that mitochondrial oxygen turnover accounts for more than 90% of total cellular oxygen consumption. Arguments disproving this concept are based on results obtained from a novel noninvasive, more sensitive detection method of activated oxygen species and novel experimental approaches, which threw light into the underlying mechanism of UQ-mediated oxygen activation. Single electrons for O2(.-) formation are exclusively provided by deprotonated ubisemiquinones. Impediment of redox-interaction with the bc1 complex in mitochondria or the lack of stabilizing interactions with redox-partners are promotors of autoxidation. The latter accounts for autoxidation of antioxidant-derived ubisemiquinones in biomembranes, which do not recycle oxidized ubiquinols. Also O2(.-)-derived H2O2 was found to interact with ubisemiquinones both in mitochondria and nonrecycling biomembranes when ubiquinol was active as antioxidant. The catalysis of reductive homolytic cleavage of H2O2, which contributes to HO. formation in biological systems was confirmed under defined chemical conditions in a homogenous reduction system. Apart from dioxygen and hydrogen peroxide we will provide evidence that also nitrite may chemically interact with the ubiquinol/bc1 redox couple in mitochondria. The reaction product NO was reported elsewhere to be a significant bioregulator of the mitochondrial respiration and O2 activation. Another novel finding documents the bioenergetic role of UQ in lysosomal proton intransport. A lysosomal chain of redox couples will be presented, which includes UQ and which requires oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor.

Effects of tocopheryl quinone on the heart: model experiments with xanthine oxidase, heart mitochondria, and isolated perfused rat hearts.

It is generally accepted that the protection effect of biological tissues by vitamin E is due to its radical scavenging potency in membranes, thereby being transformed to a vitamin E radical. A deficiency of appropriate reductants, which recycle vitamin E radicals back to its antioxidative active form, causes an irreversible degradation of vitamin E leading to tocopheryl quinone (TQ). TQ-like compounds were shown to result from both vitamin E and corresponding hydrophilic analogues of this antioxidant in vitro. In vivo elevated concentrations of tocopheryl quinones were detected after oxidative stress and TQ supplementation as well. Quinones in general are known to be efficient one-electron donors and acceptors. Therefore the question arises whether TQ-like compounds can undergo redox-cycling in conjunction with redox-active enzymes in the heart, thereby producing harmful oxygen radicals, or whether these compounds exhibit antioxidant properties. In order to elucidate this question we focused our interest on the interaction of TQ and a corresponding short-chain homologue (TQ(0)) with xanthine oxidase and heart mitochondria. Furthermore, we tested the influence of TQ on the recovery of isolated perfused rat hearts after ischemia/reperfusion. Our experiments revealed that hydrophilic TQ(0) was univalently reduced by xanthine oxidase (XOD) yielding semiquinone radicals in the absence of oxygen. However, under aerobic conditions TQ(0) enhanced the O(2)(*)(-) radical output of XOD. In the mitochondrial respiratory chain TQ was shown to interact with high potential cytochrome b in the bc(1) complex specifically. In contrast to the system XOD/TQ(0), lipophilic TQ in submitochondrial particles decreased the O(2)(*)(-) radical release during regular respiration possibly due to its interaction with b-cytochromes in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. In isolated rat hearts perfused with liposomes containing lipophilic TQ, it was efficiently accumulated in the heart tissue. When hearts were subjected to conditions of ischemia/reperfusion, infusion of TQ prior to ischemia significantly improved the recovery of hemodynamic parameters. Our results demonstrate that TQ derivatives may induce pro-oxidative and antioxidative effects depending on the distribution of TQ derivatives in the heart tissue and the interacting redox system.

Kynurenic acid influences the respiratory parameters of rat heart mitochondria.

In the present study the effect of L-kynurenine, kynurenic acid and quinolinic acid on the heart mitochondrial function were investigated. Mitochondria were incubated with saturating concentrations of respiratory substrates glutamate/malate (5 mmol/l), succinate (10 mmol/l) or NADH (1 mmol/l), with and without kynurenines. The concentration of kynurenines varied between 1.25 micromol/l and 10 mmol/l. From all investigated kynurenines, only kynurenic acid affected dose-dependently the respiratory parameters of heart mitochondria. Respiratory control and P/O values were reduced significantly with glutamate/malate and moderately with succinate as substrates in the presence of 125 micromol/l to 10 mmol/l kynurenic acid. A known elevation of L-kynurenine in the blood of patients with ischemic heart disease or essential hypertension may suggest the involvement of L-kynurenine metabolites in the impairment of heart mitochondrial function, for example in cardiomyopathy.

Are mitochondria a permanent source of reactive oxygen species?

The observation that in isolated mitochondria electrons may leak out of the respiratory chain to form superoxide radicals (O(2)(radical-)) has prompted the assumption that O(2)(radical-) formation is a compulsory by-product of respiration. Since mitochondrial O(2)(radical-) formation under homeostatic conditions could not be demonstrated in situ so far, conclusions drawn from isolated mitochondria must be considered with precaution. The present study reveals a link between electron deviation from the respiratory chain to oxygen and the coupling state in the presence of antimycin A. Another important factor is the analytical system applied for the detection of activated oxygen species. Due to the presence of superoxide dismutase in mitochondria, O(2)(radical-) release cannot be realistically determined in intact mitochondria. We therefore followed the release of the stable dismutation product H(2)O(2) by comparing most frequently used H(2)O(2) detection methods. The possible interaction of the detection systems with the respiratory chain was avoided by a recently developed method, which was compared with conventional methods. Irrespective of the methods applied, the substrates used for respiration and the state of respiration established, intact mitochondria could not be made to release H(2)O(2) from dismutating O(2)(radical-). Although regular mitochondrial respiration is unlikely to supply single electrons for O(2)(radical-) formation our study does not exclude the possibility of the respiratory chain becoming a radical source under certain conditions.

Mitochondria recycle nitrite back to the bioregulator nitric monoxide.

Nitric monoxide (NO) exerts a great variety of physiological functions. L-Arginine supplies amino groups which are transformed to NO in various NO-synthase-active isoenzyme complexes. NO-synthesis is stimulated under various conditions increasing the tissue of stable NO-metabolites. The major oxidation product found is nitrite. Elevated nitrite levels were reported to exist in a variety of diseases including HIV, reperfusion injury and hypovolemic shock. Denitrifying bacteria such as Paracoccus denitrificans have a membrane bound set of cytochromes (cyt cd1, cyt bc) which were shown to be involved in nitrite reduction activities. Mammalian mitochondria have similar cytochromes which form part of the respiratory chain. Like in bacteria quinols are used as reductants of these types of cytochromes. The observation of one-e- divergence from this redox-couple to external dioxygen made us to study whether this site of the respiratory chain may also recycle nitrite back to its bioactive form NO. Thus, the aim of the present study was therefore to confirm the existence of a reductive pathway which reestablishes the existence of the bioregulator NO from its main metabolite NO2-. Our results show that respiring mitochondria readily reduce added nitrite to NO which was made visible by nitrosylation of deoxyhemoglobin. The adduct gives characteristic triplet-ESR-signals. Using inhibitors of the respiratory chain for chemical sequestration of respiratory segments we were able to identify the site where nitrite is reduced. The results confirm the ubiquinone/cyt be1 couple as the reductant site where nitrite is recycled. The high affinity of NO to the heme-iron of cytochrome oxidase will result in an impairment of mitochondrial energy-production. "Nitrite tolerance" of angina pectoris patients using NO-donors may be explained in that way.

H(2)O(2) detection from intact mitochondria as a measure for one-electron reduction of dioxygen requires a non-invasive assay system.

Evaluation of the existence of superoxide radicals (O*-(2)), the site of generation and conditions required for one-e(-) transfer to oxygen from biological redox systems is a prerequisite for the understanding of the deregulation of O(2) homeostasis leading to oxidative stress. Mitochondria are increasingly considered the major O*-(2) source in a great variety of diseases and the aging process. Contradictory reports on mitochondrial O*-(2) release prompted us to critically investigate frequently used O*-(2) detection methods for their suitability. Due to the impermeability of the external mitochondrial membrane for most constituents of O*-(2) detection systems we decided to follow the stable dismutation product H(2)O(2). This metabolite was earlier shown to readily permeate into the cytosol. With the exception of tetramethylbenzidine none of the chemical reactants indicating the presence of H(2)O(2) by horseradish peroxidase-catalyzed absorbance change were suited due to solubility problems or low extinction coefficients. Tetramethylbenzidine-dependent H(2)O(2) detection was counteracted by rereduction of the dye through e(-) carriers of the respiratory chain. Although the fluorescent dyes scopoletin and homovanillic acid were found to be suited for the detection of mitochondrial H(2)O(2) release, fluorescence change was strongly affected by mitochondrial protein constituents. The present study has resolved this problem by separating the detection system from H(2)O(2)-producing mitochondria.

Nitrite reductase activity is a novel function of mammalian mitochondria.

Nitrite, which is the major stable degradation product of nitric oxide, exists in all tissues capable of nitric oxide synthesis from L-arginine. The present study provides experimental evidence that nitrite in contact with respiring mitochondria accepts reducing equivalents from the ubiquinone cycle of the respiratory chain. Univalent reduction of nitrite was totally inhibited by myxothiazol. We therefore conclude on the involvement of redox cycling that ubisemiquinone is associated with the bc1 complex. Recycling of nitric oxide degradation products via these electron carriers may become a threat to energy-linked respiration since nitric oxide in direct contact with mitochondria was shown to slow the energy-linked respiration down and to trigger a mitochondrial source for superoxide radicals. Until now, the existence of nitrite reductase activity was only demonstrated in plants and bacteria. In addition, the present observation elucidates the existence of a nitric oxide synthase-independent nitric oxide source.

Studies on the chemical identity and biological functions of pangamic acid.

Pangamic acid (6-O-(dimethylaminoacetyl)-D-gluconic acid) has been detected 1938 and described as a natural, universally occurring substance with multiple biological and medical functions. In this respect pangamic acid has been worldwide on the market since decades as a drug stimulating cellular respiration. In addition to the natural pangamic acid, diisopropylammonium dichloroacetate (DIPA), a synthetic product not found in biological material, is on the market requesting similar biological functions. In commercially available drugs on the German market declared as pangamic acid three separate substances can be found by chemical identification of pangamic acid, namely: gluconic acid, glycine and diisopropylamonium dichloroacetate. As biological functions have been found in vitro inhibition of Cu-dependent LDL oxidation by glycine due to chelation of Cu2+ ions and deterioration of mitochondrial respiratory control due to an increased state IV oxygen consumption rate at high concentrations of DIPA.

Dihydrolipoic acid maintains ubiquinone in the antioxidant active form by two-electron reduction of ubiquinone and one-electron reduction of ubisemiquinone.

Dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA) is a constituent of cellular energy metabolism, where it cycles between the oxidized and reduced form. The two thiol residues of DHLA make this biomolecule susceptible to most radical species and prevent Fenton-type reactions by chelating free iron. In this study we present a novel mode of action by which DHLA exerts antioxidant function in combination with coenzyme Q (ubiquinone). DHLA was found to reduce ubiquinone to ubiquinol by the transfer of a pair of electrons, thereby increasing the antioxidant capacity of coenzyme Q in biomembranes. In addition, ubisemiquinone, which was earlier shown to be an active oxygen radical source when existing in the anionic form, is removed from equilibrium by the addition of a single electron from DHLA. The high reactivity of DHLA with this potentially deleterious ubisemiquinone species not only prevents the formation of prooxidants, it also keeps ubiquinone in its antioxidant active form. Experimental data of this study demonstrate a superadditive effect of ubiquinone in combination with DHLA in preventing peroxidation of biomembranes.

The exogenous NADH dehydrogenase of heart mitochondria is the key enzyme responsible for selective cardiotoxicity of anthracyclines.

The molecular mechanism of the anthracycline-dependent development of cardiotoxicity is still far from being clear. However, it is generally accepted, that mitochondria play a significant role in triggering this organ specific injury. The results presented in this study demonstrate that, in contrast to liver mitochondria, isolated heart mitochondria shuttle single electrons to adriamycin, giving rise to oxygen radical formation via autoxidation of adriamycin semiquinones. This one electron reduction of anthracyclines is catalyzed by the exogenous NADH dehydrogenase associated with complex I of heart mitochondria, an enzyme which is lacking in liver mitochondria. Upon addition of NADH heart mitochondria generate significant amounts of adriamycin semiquinones while liver mitochondria were ineffective. Adriamycin semiquinones undergo both autoxidation leading to superoxide radical release and complex reactions under formation of adriamycin aglycone. Due to the high lipophilicity adriamycin aglycones accumulate in the inner mitochondrial membrane where they interfere with electron carriers of the respiratory chain. Adriamycin aglycone semiquinones emerging from an interaction with complex I were found to trigger homolytic cleavage of H2O2 which results in the formation of hydroxyl radicals. As demonstrated in this study the activation of adriamycin by the exogenous NADH dehydrogenase of cardiac mitochondria initiates a cascade of reaction steps leading to the establishment of oxidative stress. Our experiments suggest the exogenous NADH dehydrogenase of heart mitochondria to play a key role in the cardiotoxicity of adriamycin. This organ-specific enzyme initiates a sequence of one electron transfer reactions ending up in the establishment of oxidative stress.

The biochemical, pathophysiological, and medical aspects of ubiquinone function.

Ubiquinone (Q) shares its biological implication in membrane-associated redox reactions with a variety of other redox carriers, such as dehydrogenases, non-heme-iron proteins, and cytochromes. Peculiarities arise from the lack of transition metals, which in contrast to the other electron carriers do not participate in redox-shuttle activities of Q. Another peculiarity is the lipophilicity of Q, which allows free movement between reductants and oxidants of a membrane. The chemistry of Q reduction and ubiquinol oxidation requires the stepwise acceptance and transfer of two single electrons associated with the addition or release of two single H+. These special qualities are widely used in biological membranes for linear electron transfer and transmembranous H+ translocation. In mitochondria it was long reported that under certain conditions linear e- transfer from the semireduced form (SQ.) to native oxidants of the respiratory chain may run out of control, thereby establishing a permanent source of oxygen radical release. It should be mentioned that in mitochondria e- transfer to dioxygen out of sequence requires a particular treatment with inhibitors and uncouplers of the respiratory chain. Nevertheless, it is generally assumed that Q is mainly involved in mitochondrial O2.- generation and that mitochondria represent the major source of O2.- radicals under physiological and various pathophysiological conditions. The ever-increasing application of coenzyme Q as an antioxidant for the prophylaxis and treatment of a great variety of functional disorders, including senescence, has considerably stimulated our interest in the potential prooxidative potency of this natural electron carrier. Experimental evidence will be presented that under physiological conditions Q implicated in mitochondrial e- transfer of the respiratory chain is not involved in cellular oxygen activation. It will also be shown that alterations of Q from an e- carrier to an active radical promotor is possible under various conditions. In addition, reaction products emerging from the antioxidant activity of ubiquinol were found to stimulate the formation of inorganic as well as organic oxygen radicals.

Imbalance of oxygen activation and energy metabolism as a consequence or mediator of aging.

Ever increasing numbers of aging theories suggest that free radicals are only one factor among others that may initiate stochastic disorders finally terminating life. It is therefore compelling not only to demonstrate the existence of increasing steady-state concentrations of free oxygen radicals during senescence, but it is essential to show that they act in concert with other postulated triggering factors of aging. We have recently shown that various factors may have a life-long influence and challenge oxygen homeostasis of cell respiration. Among these factors are environmental pollutants, therapeutics, and transient hypoxia. Although the nature of these "hits" is different, mitochondrial respiration was found to respond in a similar manner to each of them. The major derangement was an univalent electron leak to oxygen giving rise to the establishment of oxidative stress. Associated with this transformation, oxidative phosphorylation was impaired with the resultant reduction of cellular ATP. Mitochondria from senescent rats exhibited similar alterations of all cell parameters found when adult animals were exposed to "environmental stress" or transient ischemia. Age-related stimulation of mitochondrial oxygen radical generation is therefore suggested to result from accumulation of minihits during life. Based on our data, together with those from other laboratories, it is possible to assess the ranking order of oxygen radicals in the development of stochastic events associated with (or causing) aging.

Endogenous and exogenous regulation of redox-properties of coenzyme Q.

Ubiquinol (QH2, reduced coenzyme Q) is increasingly reported to exert antioxidant functions besides its implication in mitochondrial energy metabolism. On the other hand ubisemiquinones (SQ-.) of the respiratory chain are considered to account for the production of superoxide radicals as a byproduct of cellular respiration. Since the formation of potentially prooxidative ubisemiquinones can be expected to result from the antioxidant activity of ubiquinol, the evaluation whether or not QH2 exerts antioxidant activities depends on the fate of antioxidant-derived metabolites and the existence of a natural recycling system for oxidized QH2. We have recently shown that SQ increasingly undergo autoxidation when approaching the external more polar phase of the membrane. In contrast to mitochondria where the QH2/ SQ-./Q pools are dynamically kept in relatively stable relationships the fate of semi and fully oxidized QH2 is not at all clear in LDL particles where QH2 is suggested to exert important antioxidant functions. Therefore, the antioxidant-derived metabolites of QH2 in liposomes following lipid peroxidation were studied with respect to their localization in the bilayer and the possibility to recycle oxidized QH2 via dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA). The results revealed a considerable fraction of QH2 existing in the outer membrane section where protons from the aqueous phase have access to allow autoxidation. DHLA was found to recycle oxidized QH2 although due to slow partition equilibration the reduction velocity appears to be not sufficient for therapeutic application.

[Is melatonin an antioxidant?]. / Ist Melatonin ein Antioxidanz?

The ever increasing understanding of oxygen radical-linked diseases, including the biological process of aging, has stimulated general interest in modulating these biological events. Among the many natural compounds recognized to exert protection against oxidative stress, melatonin was reported to have antioxidant properties in addition to its known hormonal activities. The present contribution critically reviews the published biochemical data on the antioxidant properties of melatonin. Furthermore, the suggested retardation effect of melatonin on senescence, which is based on the "free radical theory of aging", is also critically evaluated.