Sulfur-containing antioxidants increase in vitro several functions of lymphocytes from mice.

The in vitro effects of several sulfur-containing antioxidants, such as glutathione (GSH), N-acetylcysteine (NAC), thioproline (TP) and taurine (TAU), at different concentrations, on key functions of lymphocytes from axillary nodes, spleen, thymus and peritoneum from young-adult BALB/c mice have been investigated. The functions studied have been proliferation, both spontaneous and in response to the mitogen Concanavalin A, mobility both spontaneous and directed to a chemical attractant (chemotaxis) and adherence to substrate. The effect of these antioxidants on the viability of leukocytes was also investigated.

An update of the oxidation-inflammation theory of aging: the involvement of the immune system in oxi-inflamm-aging.

The aging process is one of the best examples of the effects of a deterioration of homeostasis, since aging is accompanied by an impairment of the physiological systems including the homeostatic systems such as the immune system. We propose an integrative theory of aging providing answers to the how (oxidation), where first (mitochondria of differentiated cells) and why (pleiotropic genes) this process occurs. In agreement with this oxidation-mitochondrial theory of aging, we have observed that the age-related changes of immune functions have as their basis an oxidative and inflammatory stress situation, which has among its intracellular mechanisms the activation of NFkappaB in immune cells.

A model of premature aging in mice based on altered stress-related behavioral response and immunosenescence.

The intensity of behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stressful stimuli in rodent strains seems to be inversely related to their life span. We have previously shown that interindividual differences in members of outbred Swiss and inbred BALB/c mouse populations, both male and female, may be related to their behavior in a simple T-maze test. The animals that explore the maze slowly show impaired neuromuscular vigor and coordination, decreased locomotor activity, increased level of emotionality/anxiety, decreased levels of brain biogenic amines as well as immunosenescence and decreased life span, when compared to their control counterparts, which quickly explore the maze.

Theories of ageing.

Ageing is a universal, intrinsic, progressive and deleterious process. Understanding it is of major interest to scientist, physicians as well as to the general population. Critical to this understanding is to formulate comprehensive theories of aging with high predictive and explanatory power.

Low concentrations of curcumin induce growth arrest and apoptosis in skin keratinocytes only in combination with UVA or visible light.

It is well known that curcumin, a dietary pigment from the plant Curcuma longa, inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in different cell lines at concentrations ranging from 10 to 150 microM (3.7-55 microg/ml). In this study, we show that curcumin at low concentrations (0.

Menopause: a review on the role of oxygen stress and favorable effects of dietary antioxidants.

Menopause is often accompanied by hot flashes and degenerative processes such as arteriosclerosis and atrophic changes of the skin that suggest an acceleration of aging triggered by estrogen lack. Therefore, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been considered the most suitable treatment for the above symptoms and processes. However, because of the possible serious side effects of HRT (especially the increased risk of thrombo-embolic accidents and breast cancer) there is a growing demand for alternative treatments of the symptoms and pathological processes associated with menopause.

Relation of behaviour and macrophage function to life span in a murine model of premature immunosenescence.

According to our previous work, mice of the same strain and age show striking inter-individual differences in behaviour when exposed to a T-maze test. Further, the animals exploring the maze slowly (slow mice) or staying at the starting point (freezing behaviour), which show high levels of emotionality/anxiety in other standard behavioural tests, have a less competent immune system (earlier immunosenescence) than those which explore it quickly (fast mice). The present longitudinal study on OF-1 Swiss female mice confirms and extends the above findings.

Can antioxidant diet supplementation protect against age-related mitochondrial damage?

Harman's free radical theory of aging and our electron-microscopic finding of an age-related mitochondrial degeneration in the somatic tissues of the insect Drosophila melanogaster as well as in the fixed postmitotic Leydig and Sertoli cells of the mouse testis led us to propose a mitochondrial theory of aging, according to which metazoan senescence may be linked to oxygen stress-injury to the genome and membranes of the mitochondria of somatic differentiated cells. These concepts attract a great deal of attention, since, according to recent work, the mitochondrial damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and concomitant decline in ATP synthesis seem to play a key role not only in aging, but also in the fundamental cellular process of apoptosis. Although diet supplementation with antioxidants has not been able to increase consistently the species-characteristic maximum life span, it results in significant extension of the mean life span of laboratory animals.