New modes of action of desferrioxamine: scavenging of semiquinone radical and stimulation of hydrolysis of tetrachlorohydroquinone.

Desferrioxamine (DFO) is a common drug used in the treatment of iron overload. In addition to its iron-chelation, other properties have been identified. Alas, DFO has demonstrable effects which cannot be explained by its classically established properties; i.

Irradiation-induced damage to the salivary glands: the role of redox-active iron and copper.

The mechanism of irradiation-induced hypofunction of the salivary glands is a process that is not fully understood. Here we examine the hypothesis that intracellular and redox-active ions of iron and copper, which are associated with the secretion granules, play a catalytic role in the irradiation-induced damage. Rats were subjected to head and neck irradiation (15 Gy X rays) and allowed to recover for 2 months.

Increased levels of redox-active iron in follicular fluid: a possible cause of free radical-mediated infertility in beta-thalassemia major.

Objective: Our purpose was to investigate the follicular fluid parameters associated with redox activity and the consequent production of the deleterious hydroxyl radical in beta-thalassemia major.

Study Design: The levels of ferritin, total iron, total copper, and redox-active iron were measured in follicular fluid aspirated from three follicles during three consecutive ovum pickups from a patient with beta-thalassemia major and were compared with the levels in nine follicles aspirates from nine healthy control patients. The redox activity in the follicular fluid samples was monitored by the extent of follicular fluid-mediated deoxyribonucleic acid degradation and salicylate hydroxylation.

Extracellular matrix. 3: Evolution of the extracellular matrix in invertebrates.

Invertebrates comprise about 95% of animal species, yet most studies of extracellular matrices have centered on vertebrates. Comparative studies of invertebrates will enhance comprehension of evolutionary processes and appreciation of the diversity of extracellular matrices. Moreover, new functions and new structures will be revealed over a wide range of organismic needs.

Copper and iron are mobilized following myocardial ischemia: possible predictive criteria for tissue injury.

Direct evidence for substantial mobilization of copper in the coronary flow immediately following prolonged, but not short, cardiac ischemia is presented. In the first coronary flow fraction (CFF) of reperfusion (0.15 ml), after 35 min of ischemia, the level of copper (as well as of iron) was 8- to 9-fold higher than the preischemic value.