• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.21 no.1 s.59
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• pp.52-57
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• 2006

Metallothioneins(MTs) belong to the class of low molecular weight proteins. Recently, it has been suggested that MTs may playa direct role in cellular defense against oxidative stress by functioning as antioxidants. Oxidative damage to different cellular components makes a major contribution to many pathogenenesses. Several studies have demonstrated that MT is able to quench a wide range of reactive oxygen species at a higher efficiency than other well known antioxidants such as superoxide dismutate(SOD). The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of MT on the activities of the reactive oxygen species removal system. MT showed the scavenging of superoxide in the SOD assay system in the presence or absence of SOD. When MT was added to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate(NADPH) oxidation system in presence of fixed amount of SOD increase the breakdown rate of superoxide. When MT was added to the system that form nitrite from hydroxylammonium chloride, the formation of nitrite was inhibit. We concluded that the function of MT as antioxidant might have an effect on the level of superoxide scavenging.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.598-605
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• 1999

The hot water and mathanol extracts of Artemisia argyi showed considerable cytotoxicities against H9(ATCC HTB 176) cancer cell with IC50 values of $48.6{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/ml$ and $51.9{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/ml$, respectively. These cytotoxicities were found to be dependent on the extract concentrations and culture days. CuZnSOD and MnSOD activities were significantly increased in the cytoplasm and mitochondria fractions of cancer cell, and media in the presence of Artemisia argyi. Such enhanced SOD activities were generally in the range of two to threefolds. In contrast to SOD, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities were not detected at all. These results suggest that Artemisia argyi have generated $O_2^-$ in the mitochondria and cytoplasm of H9 cancer cell with concurrent induction of CuZnSOD and MnSOD in situ, which dismutate $O_2^-{\}to{\;}H_2O_2$. Without coordinated actions of catalase and/or glutathione peroxidase $H_2O_2$ is easily converted to very toxic OH and these reactive oxygen species together might have induced necrosis and/or apoptosis of H9 cell.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.4 s.71
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• pp.626-632
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• 2005

The polyamines are essential components of all eukaryotic cells and absolutely necessary for cell growth. In the present study, the cytoprotective role of polyamine was characterized. When $Ac_2F$ rat liver cells were treated with 1M 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dehydrochloride (AAPH), a water soluble free radical initiator, viability of the cells was noticeably decreased due to the increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The cytotoxic effect of AAPH as well as ROS generation were significantly inhibited by the treatment of polyamines. Among polyamines, especially spermine at $20{\mu}M$ concentration exerted over $45\%$ inhibition of AAPH-induced ROS generation. Western blotting was performed to determine whether superoxide dismutase(SOD) or catalase (CAT) expression was involved in oxidative stress. The AAPH treatment blocked both SOD and CAT protein expressions. Spermine could recover those protein expressions to the untreated control levels. According to the result of cycline E measurement, AAPH might block the entry of the cells into S phase of the cell cycle. The reduced expression of cyclin E protein could be fully recovered by the addition of spermine. The antioxidative effects of spermine was also further proved by the apopotitic morphological analysis using ethidium bromide and acridine orange.