scholarly journals The arginine metabolite agmatine protects mitochondrial function and confers resistance to cellular apoptosis

2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (6) ◽  
pp. C1411-C1419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Ann Arndt ◽  
Valentina Battaglia ◽  
Eva Parisi ◽  
Mark J. Lortie ◽  
Masato Isome ◽  
...  

Agmatine, an endogenous metabolite of arginine, selectively suppresses growth in cells with high proliferative kinetics, such as transformed cells, through depletion of intracellular polyamine levels. In the present study, we depleted intracellular polyamine content with agmatine to determine if attrition by cell death contributes to the growth-suppressive effects. We did not observe an increase in necrosis, DNA fragmentation, or chromatin condensation in Ha-Ras-transformed NIH-3T3 cells administered agmatine. In response to Ca2+-induced oxidative stress in kidney mitochondrial preparations, agmatine demonstrated attributes of a free radical scavenger by protecting against the oxidation of sulfhydryl groups and decreasing hydrogen peroxide content. The functional outcome was a protective effect against Ca2+-induced mitochondrial swelling and mitochondrial membrane potential collapse. We also observed decreased expression of proapoptotic Bcl-2 family members and of execution caspase-3, implying antiapoptotic potential. Indeed, we found that apoptosis induced by camptothecin or 5-fluorourocil was attenuated in cells administered agmatine. Agmatine may offer an alternative to the ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor difluoromethyl ornithine for depletion of intracellular polyamine content while avoiding the complications of increasing polyamine import and reducing the intracellular free radical scavenger capacity of polyamines. Depletion of intracellular polyamine content with agmatine suppressed cell growth, yet its antioxidant capacity afforded protection from mitochondrial insult and resistance to cellular apoptosis. These results could explain the beneficial outcomes observed with agmatine in models of injury and disease.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Kartini Kartini ◽  
Azminah Azminah

In order to prepare standardized extract, optimization of extraction conditions of grape seed has been done. These conditions are type of menstrum (50, 70 and 96% of ethanolic solution), length of extraction (1, 2 and 4 hours) also method of evaporation (reduced pressure and opened air). Activity on free radical scavenger used as parameters to determine optimum conditions. Based on EC50 (concentration which scavenge 50% amount of free radical) can be concluded that optimum condition for extracting antioxidant active compound from grape seed are 70% ethanolic solution as menstrum, length of extraction 1 hour and evaporation on opened air use water bath.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (01) ◽  
pp. e104-e109
Author(s):  
Antonio Molina-Carballo ◽  
Antonio Emilio Jerez-Calero ◽  
Antonio Muñoz-Hoyos

AbstractMelatonin, produced in every cell that possesses mitochondria, acts as an endogenous free radical scavenger, and improves energetic metabolism and immune function, by complex molecular crosstalk with other intracellular compounds. There is greatly increasing evidence regarding beneficial effects of acute and chronic administration of high melatonin doses, in infectious, developmental, and degenerative pathologies, as an endothelial cell and every cell protectant.


1997 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 1119-1125 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. S. Supinski ◽  
D. Stofan ◽  
R. Ciufo ◽  
A. Dimarco

Supinski, G. S., D. Stofan, R. Ciufo, and A. DiMarco. N-acetylcysteine administration alters the response to inspiratory loading in oxygen-supplemented rats. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(4): 1119–1125, 1997.—Based on recent studies, it has been suggested that free radicals are elaborated in the respiratory muscles during strenuous contractions and contribute to the development of muscle fatigue. If this theory is correct, then it should be possible to attenuate the development of diaphragm fatigue and/or delay the onset of respiratory failure during loaded breathing by administering a free radical scavenger. The purpose of the present experiment was, therefore, to examine the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a free radical scavenger and glutathione precursor, on the evolution of respiratory failure in decerebrate unanesthetized rats breathing against a large inspiratory resistive load. We compared the inspiratory volume and pressure generation over time in animals pretreated with either saline or NAC (150 mg/kg) and then loaded until respiratory arrest. After arrest, the diaphragm was excised, and samples were assayed for reduced (GSH) and oxidized glutathione. As a control, we also assessed respiratory function and glutathione concentrations in groups of nonloaded saline- and NAC-treated animals. We found that NAC-treated animals were able to tolerate loading better than the saline-treated group, maintaining higher inspiratory pressures and sustaining higher inspired volumes. Administration of NAC also increased the time that animals could tolerate loading before the development of respiratory arrest. In addition, although saline-treated loaded animals had significant reductions in diaphragmatic GSH levels compared with unloaded controls, the magnitude of this reduction was blunted by NAC administration (i.e., GSH averaged 965 ± 113, 568 ± 83, 907 ± 39, and 784 ± 61 nmol/g for unloaded-saline, loaded-saline, unloaded-NAC, and loaded-NAC groups, P< 0.05, with the value for the loaded-saline group lower than the values for the two unloaded groups; GSH for the loaded-NAC group was not different, however, from unloaded controls). These data demonstrate that administration of NAC, a free radical scavenger, slows the rate of development of respiratory failure during inspiratory resistive loading.


1993 ◽  
Vol 17 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 233-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Pearl ◽  
Ann Hale ◽  
Tom Whitehead

2015 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 866-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violetta Kozik ◽  
Krystyna Jarzembek ◽  
Agnieszka Jędrzejowska ◽  
Andrzej Bąk ◽  
Justyna Polak ◽  
...  

Abstract Pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum L.) is a source of numerous phenolic compounds, and it contains flavonoids such as anthocyanins, anthocyanidins, cyanidins, catechins and other complexes of flavonoids, ellagitannins, and hydrolyzed tannins. Pomegranate juice shows antioxidant, antiproliferative, and anti-atherosclerotic properties. The antioxidant capacity (TEAC) of the pomegranate juices was measured using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) as a source of free radicals, and the total phenolic (TP) content was measured using UV-Vis spectroscopy. All the examined pomegranate juices exhibited relatively high antioxidant properties. The TEAC values determined by means of EPR spectroscopy using Trolox (TE) as a free radical scavenger were in the range of 463.12 to 1911.91 μmol TE/100 mL juice. The TP content measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, using gallic acid (GA) as a free radical scavenger, widely varied in the investigated pomegranate juice samples and ranged from 1673.62 to 5263.87 mg GA/1 L juice. The strongest antioxidant properties were observed with the fresh pomegranate juices obtained from the fruits originating from Israel, Lebanon, and Azerbaijan. Correlation analysis of numerical data obtained by means of EPR spectroscopy (TEAC) and UV-Vis spectroscopy (TP) gave correlation coefficient (r) = 0.90 and determination coefficient (r2) = 0.81 (P &lt;0.05).


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