Mitochondrial damage compromises ATP production and consequentially cellular viability. Given the central role that mitochondria play in regulating cellular function, drugs that undermine mitochondrial function frequently elicit toxic effects. In contrast, mitochondrial biogenesis increases cell vitality and is being pursued as a strategy to combat age-related diseases. Thus, there is growing i...

Mitochondrial damage compromises ATP production and, consequentially, cellular viability. Given the central role that mitochondria play in regulating cellular function, drugs that undermine mitochondrial function frequently elicit toxic effects. In contrast, mitochondrial biogenesis increases cell vitality and is being pursued as a strategy to combat age-related diseases. Thus, there is growing...

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) acts by scavenging reactive oxygen species to protect neuronal cells against oxidative stress in neurodegenerative diseases. The present study was designed to examine whether CoQ10 was capable of protecting astrocytes from reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated damage. For this purpose, ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation was used as a tool to induce ROS stress to cultured astr...

OBJECTIVES Reduced glutathione (GSH) has been shown to improve pulmonary graft preservation. Mitochondrial dysfunction is regarded to be the motor of ischemia-reperfusion injury (IR) in solid organs. We have shown previously that IR induces pulmonary mitochondrial damage. This study elucidates the impact of GSH preconditioning on the integrity and function of pulmonary mitochondria in the setti...

Excessive mitochondrial fission is associated with the pathology of a number of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, inhibitors of aberrant mitochondrial fission could provide important research tools in addition to potential leads for drug development. Using a rational approach, we designed a novel and selective peptide inhibitor, P110, of excessive mitochondrial fission. P110 inhibits Drp1 ...

FITOPROT, which contains curcuminoids and Bidens pilosa L. extract, is an innovative mucoadhesive formulation indicated for the topical treatment of chemoradiotherapy-induced oral mucositis (OM) in patients with advanced visible squamous cell carcinoma. The used as a mouthwash directly on tumor tissue neoplasms, without triggering cancer proliferation or invasiveness. Thus, aim this study was t...

PURPOSE To compare the safety profiles of antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs ranibizumab, bevacizumab, aflibercept and ziv-aflibercept on retinal pigment epithelium cells in culture. METHODS Human retinal pigment epithelium cells (ARPE-19) were exposed for 24 h to four anti-VEGF drugs at 1/2×, 1×, 2× and 10× clinical concentrations. Cell viability and mitochondrial membrane p...

Ophiobolin A, a fungal toxin from Bipolaris species known to affect different cellular processes in plants, has recently been shown to have anti-cancer activity in mammalian cells. In the present study, we investigated the anti-proliferative effect of Ophiobolin A on human melanoma A375 and CHL-1 cell lines. This cellular model was chosen because of the incidence of melanoma malignant tumor on ...

As noted by Warburg, many cancer cells depend on the consumption of glucose. We performed a genetic screen to identify factors responsible for glucose addiction and recovered the two subunits of the xCT antiporter (system xc-), which plays an antioxidant role by exporting glutamate for cystine. Disruption of the xCT antiporter greatly improves cell viability after glucose withdrawal, because co...

Ultraviolet B (UVB) induces cell death by increasing free radical production, activating apoptotic cell death pathways and depolarizing mitochondrial membrane potential. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an essential cofactor in the mitochondrial electron transport chain, serves as a potent antioxidant in the mitochondria. The aim of the present study is to establish whether CoQ10 is capable of protecting ...