We evaluated the activity and expression of antioxidant enzymes in the cerebellum and cortex of Swiss adult male mice exposed to methylmercury (MeHg) in drinking water (40mg/L) during 21 days. The activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione S-transferase (GST), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) were determined spect...

Recent studies have suggested that coronary endothelial cells produce and release nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin I2, and epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs). These endothelium-derived vasodilators play an important role in the control of coronary vascular tone. However, the mechanism by which these endothelium-derived vasodilators cause relaxation of coronary arterial smooth muscle has yet to be...

Using a luciferase reporter assay, we previously demonstrated that a Z-DNA-forming sequence of alternating thymine-guanine repeats in the human heme oxygenase-1 gene (HO-1) promoter is involved in nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2 (NF-E2)-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-mediated HO-1 promoter activation. However, the actual Z-DNA formation in this native genomic locus has not been experimentally demon...

The mechanism of the interaction between Se deficiency and high energy remains limited. The aim of the current study was to identify whether Se-deficient, high-energy diet can induce oxidative stress, and downregulate the Nrf2 pathway and phagocytic dysfunction of neutrophils. We detected the phagocytic activity, ROS production, protein levels of Nrf2 and Nrf2 downstream target genes, and the m...

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality in the world, and finding novel agents for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer is of urgent need. Diphenyl difluoroketone (EF24), a molecule having structural similarity to curcumin, exhibits potent anti-tumor activities by arresting cell cycle and inducing apoptosis. Although EF24 demonstrates potent anticancer effïcacy ...

Thioredoxin reductase (TR) and thioredoxin (Trx) define a major cellular redox system that maintains cysteine residues in numerous proteins in the reduced state. Both cytosolic (TR1 and Trx1) and mitochondrial (TR3 and Trx2) enzymes are essential in mammals, but the function of the mitochondrial system is less understood. In this study, we characterized subcellular localization of three TR3 for...

The compounds 4-vinylcyclohexene 1,2-monoepoxide (VCM) and 4-Vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) are the two downstream metabolites of 4-vinylcyclohexene (VCH), an ovotoxic agent in mammals. In addition, VCM and VCD may be found as by-products of VCH oxidation in the environment. Recently, we reported the involvement of oxidative stress in the toxicity of VCH in Drosophila melanogaster. However, i...

Twenty-six Angus-cross cows were used to examine the effect of BW loss (WL) on skeletal muscle and erythrocyte markers of oxidative stress. Serum NEFA concentrations, erythrocyte superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase activities were measured during WL and BW maintenance. Real-time reverse-transcription-PCR was used to determine mRNA levels of antioxidant genes during both periods to ...

Cytosolic thioredoxin reductase 1 (TR1) is the best characterized of the class of high-molecular weight (Mr) thioredoxin reductases (TRs). TR1 is highly dependent upon the rare amino acid selenocysteine (Sec) for the reduction of thioredoxin (Trx) and a host of small molecule substrates, as mutation of Sec to cysteine (Cys) results in a large decrease in catalytic activity for all substrate typ...

Methylmercury (MeHg) toxicity is a continuous environmental problem to human health. The critical role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of MeHg cytotoxicity has been clarified, but the molecular mechanisms underlying MeHg-mediated oxidative stress remain to be elucidated. Here we demonstrate a post-transcriptional effect of MeHg on antioxidant selenoenzymes by using a MeHg-susceptible ce...