Uptake and reduction of α-lipoic acid by human erythrocytes

Reduction and uptake of methylene blue by human erythrocytes.

A thiazine dye reductase has been described in endothelial cells that reduces methylene blue (MB), allowing its uptake into cells. Because a different mechanism of MB uptake in human erythrocytes has been proposed, we measured MB uptake and reduction in this cell type. Oxidized MB (MB(+)) stimulated reduction of extracellular ferricyanide in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, reflectin...

Uptake of L-ascorbic acid and L-dehydroascorbic acid by human erythrocytes and HeLa cells.

Uptake of AsA and DAsA by human cells, i.e., erythrocytes and HeLa cells, was examined in vitro. AsA was taken up very slowly, but DAsA was taken up very rapidly by erythrocytes to establish equilibrium after 1 minute. Uptake of the vitamins by HeLa cells was similar to that by erythrocytes, except there was an uptake of DAsA that reached saturation after 5 minutes. The DAsA taken up was reduce...

Quantitative analysis of uptake of free fatty acid by mammalian cells: lauric acid and human erythrocytes.

Quantitative aspects of the binding of free fatty acid to human erythrocytes were studied by measuring the distribution of various amounts of [1-(14)C]lauric acid between washed human erythrocytes and defatted human plasma albumin. Incubations were done at 37 degrees C in an isotonic phosphate-buffered salt solution. Laurate uptake approached a steady state value within 1 hr of incubation over ...

Consequences of the Combined α-tocopherol, Ascorbic Acid and α-lipoic Acid on the Glutathione, Cholesterol and Fatty Acid Composition in Muscle and Liver of Diabetic Rats

Overproduction of α-Lipoic Acid by Gene Manipulated Escherichia coli

Alpha-lipoic acid (LA) is an important enzyme cofactor widely used by organisms and is also a natural antioxidant for the treatment of pathologies driven by low levels of endogenous antioxidants. In order to establish a safer and more efficient process for LA production, we developed a new biological method for LA synthesis based on the emerging knowledge of lipoic acid biosynthesis. We first c...