The consumption of Brassica vegetables provides beneficial effects through organic isothiocyanates (ITCs), products of the enzymatic hydrolysis of glucosinolate secondary metabolites. The ITC l-sulforaphane (l-SFN) is the principle agent in broccoli that demonstrates several modes of anticancer action. While the anticancer properties of ITCs like l-SFN have been extensively studied and l-SFN has been the subject of multiple human clinical trials, the scope of this work has largely been limited to those derivatives found in nature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMitochondria play a fundamental role in the regulation of cell death during accumulation of oxidants. High concentrations of atmospheric oxygen (hyperoxia), used clinically to treat tissue hypoxia in premature newborns, is known to elicit oxidative stress and mitochondrial injury to pulmonary epithelial cells. A consequence of oxidative stress in mitochondria is the accumulation of peroxides which are detoxified by the dedicated mitochondrial thioredoxin system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRationale: Infants born to diabetic or obese mothers are at risk of respiratory distress and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), conceivably through fuel-mediated pathogenic mechanisms. Prior research and preventative measures focus on controlling maternal hyperglycemia, but growing evidence suggests a role for additional circulating fuels including lipids. Little is known about the individual or additive effects of a maternal high-fat diet on fetal lung development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThioredoxin-interacting protein (Txnip) acts as a negative regulator of thioredoxin function and is a critical modulator of several diseases including, but not limited to, diabetes, ischemia-reperfusion cardiac injury, and carcinogenesis. Therefore, Txnip has become an attractive therapeutic target to alleviate disease pathologies. Although Txnip has been implicated with numerous cellular processes such as proliferation, fatty acid and glucose metabolism, inflammation, and apoptosis, the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes are largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFree Radic Biol Med
October 2014
The most common form of newborn chronic lung disease, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), is thought to be caused by oxidative disruption of lung morphogenesis, which results in decreased pulmonary vasculature and alveolar simplification. Although cellular redox status is known to regulate cellular proliferation and differentiation, redox-sensitive pathways associated with these processes in developing pulmonary epithelium are unknown. Redox-sensitive pathways are commonly regulated by cysteine thiol modifications.
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