Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is a biopolymer of phosphoanhydride-linked orthophosphate residues. PolyP is involved in multiple cellular processes including mitochondrial metabolism and cell death. We used artificial membranes and isolated mitochondria to investigate the role of the polyP in mitochondrial ion transport and in activation of PTP. Here, we found that polyP can modify ion permeab...

Chloroacetaldehyde (CAA) is a chlorination by-product in finished drinking water and a toxic metabolite of a wide variety of industrial chemicals (e.g. vinyl chloride) and chemotherapeutic agents (e.g. cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide). In this research, the cytotoxic mechanisms of CAA in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes were investigated.CAA cytotoxicity was associated with reactive oxygen spec...

A critical event in ischemia-based cell death is the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP). However, the molecular identity of the components of the MPTP remains unknown. Here, we determined that the Bcl-2 family members Bax and Bak, which are central regulators of apoptotic cell death, are also required for mitochondrial pore-dependent necrotic cell death by facilita...

This study aims to evaluate the cytotoxicity of resveratrol on QGY-7701 cells via a cell viability assay, and determine the cytological alterations and damages that result. Resveratrol was found to inhibit QGY-7701 cell growth and decrease their viability in a remarkably dose-dependent manner. Resveratrol exposure also induced an increase in Caspase-3 activity and a decrease in Bcl-2, which cau...

Chloroacetaldehyde (CAA) is a chlorination by-product in finished drinking water and a toxic metabolite of a wide variety of industrial chemicals (e.g. vinyl chloride) and chemotherapeutic agents (e.g. cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide). In this research, the cytotoxic mechanisms of CAA in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes were investigated.CAA cytotoxicity was associated with reactive oxygen spec...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Nortriptyline, an antidepressant, was identified as a strong inhibitor of mitochondrial permeability transition by our screening of a library of 1040 drugs. Because mitochondrial permeability transition and consequent mitochondrial dysfunction have been implicated in acute neuronal death, we proposed to investigate the possible neuroprotective effects of nortriptyline in ...

Trauma and sepsis can cause acute lung injury (ALI) and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in part by triggering neutrophil (PMN)-mediated increases in endothelial cell (EC) permeability. We had shown that mitochondrial (mt) damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) appear in the blood after injury or shock and activate human PMN. So we now hypothesized that mitochondrial DAMPs (MTD)...

Activation of the mitochondrial permeability transition may contribute to excitotoxic neuronal death (Ankarcrona et al., 1996; Dubinsky and Levi, 1998). However, cyclosporin A (CsA), a potent inhibitor of the permeability transition in liver mitochondria, only protects against neuronal injury by limited doses of glutamate and selected ischemic paradigms. The lack of consistent CsA inhibition of...

BACKGROUND The pathogenesis of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) enteropathy is complex. It involves uncoupling of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation which alters the intercellular junction and increases intestinal permeability with consequent intestinal damage. Metronidazole diminishes the inflammation induced by indomethacin but the mechanisms remain speculative. A direct effe...