Event Information
Antioxidant Mechanisms: Preventing DNA Damage through Metal Binding
- Abstract:
Metal-mediated oxidative DNA damage is the primary cause of cell death under conditions of oxidative stress and is an underlying cause of neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Many studies of antioxidant activity focus on regulation of enzyme activity or enzymatic pathways involving decomposition of reactive oxygen species. In contrast, we have been examining the ability of several potent and widely-studied classes of antioxidants to inhibit DNA damage by directly coordinating the iron and copper ions responsible for radical generation. Sulfur, selenium, and polyphenolic antioxidants prevent DNA damage through metal coordination at biologically-relevant, low micromolar concentrations. Polyphenolic antioxidants are very effective at preventing iron-mediated damage but much less effective at preventing copper-mediated damage, whereas the opposite is true for sulfur and selenium antioxidants. This metal-binding mechanism represents an important shift in thinking about antioxidant activity and has significant implications for future directions in development of antioxidant supplements and therapies.
Host: A.L. Crumbliss
Chemistry Seminar