Glutathione biosynthesis catalysed by GCL (glutamate-cysteine ligase) and GS (glutathione synthetase) is essential for maintaining redox homoeostasis and protection against oxidative damage in diverse eukaroytes and bacteria. This biosynthetic pathway probably evolved in cyanobacteria with the advent of oxygenic photosynthesis, but the biochemical characteristics of progenitor GCLs and GSs in t...

Anoxia induces hyper-excitability and cell death in mammalian brain but in the anoxia-tolerant western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii) neuronal electrical activity is suppressed (i.e. spike arrest), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) consumption is reduced, and cell death does not occur. Electrical suppression is primarily the result of enhanced γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transmission; howeve...

Since the discovery of AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK), its fundamental role in regulating metabolic pathways and the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of its activity by adenine nucleotides has been widely studied. AMPK is not only an energy-responsive enzyme, but it also senses redox signals. This review aims at recapitulating the recent lines of evidence that demonstrate the ...

Quantifying the magnitude and dynamics of protein oxidation during cell signaling is technically challenging. Computational modeling provides tractable, quantitative methods to test hypotheses of redox mechanisms that may be simultaneously operative during signal transduction. The interleukin-4 (IL-4) pathway, which has previously been reported to induce reactive oxygen species and oxidation of...

Understanding the chemistry of redox proteins demands methods that provide precise control over redox centers within the protein. The technique of protein film electrochemistry, in which a protein is immobilized on an electrode surface such that the electrode replaces physiological electron donors or acceptors, has provided functional insight into the redox reactions of a range of different pro...

Thiol-dependent redox regulation of enzyme activity plays a central role in the rapid acclimation of chloroplast metabolism to ever-fluctuating light availability. This regulatory mechanism relies on ferredoxin reduced by the photosynthetic electron transport chain, which fuels reducing power to thioredoxins (Trxs) via a ferredoxin-dependent Trx reductase. In addition, chloroplasts harbor an NA...

BACKGROUND Doxorubicin is one of the most effective anti-cancer drugs but its use is limited by cumulative cardiotoxicity that restricts lifetime dose. Redox damage is one of the most accepted mechanisms of toxicity, but not fully substantiated. Moreover doxorubicin is not an efficient redox cycling compound due to its low redox potential. Here we used genomic and chemical systems approaches in...

Quinones are a class of compounds which have widespread importance in chemistry, biology and medicine. Because of their appropriate performance in electron transferring rate, quinones are among the most applicable mediators in biosensors. Recently, the effects of different non-metal substitutions on redox potential of quinone have been investigated to design suitable mediators for different ele...

1. The current study explored potential redox mechanisms of nitric oxide (NO)-induced inhibition of DNA synthesis in cultured human and rat aortic smooth muscle cells. 2. Exposure to S-nitrosothiols, DETA-NONOate and NO itself inhibited ongoing DNA synthesis and S phase progression in a concentration-dependent manner, as measured by thymidine incorporation and flow cytometry. Inhibition by NO d...

Alcohol and other drugs of abuse, including psychostimulants and opioids, can induce epigenetic changes: a contributing factor for drug addiction, tolerance, and associated withdrawal symptoms. DNA methylation is a major epigenetic mechanism and it is one of more than 200 methylation reactions supported by methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM). Levels of SAM are controlled by cellular redox s...