Downs, D.M. orcid.org/0000-0002-1564-6205 and Poole, R.K. orcid.org/0000-0002-4664-6689 (2024) Interpreting the role of antioxidants in vivo: a cautionary tale. Molecular Microbiology, 122 (1). pp. 129-132. ISSN 0950-382X
Abstract
Bacteria have a remarkable ability to sense environmental stresses and to respond to these stressors by adapting their metabolism and physiology. In recent publications, investigators have suggested that multiple stresses that cause cell death share the mechanistic feature of stimulating the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). A central piece of evidence cited in these claims is the ability of exogenous antioxidant compounds to mitigate stress-related cell death. The validity of attributing a positive effect of exogenous antioxidants to ROS-mediated stress is challenged by an important study by Korshunov and Imlay in this issue of Molecular Microbiology. This study reports biochemical data that convincingly show that some commonly used antioxidants quench oxidants orders of magnitude too slowly to have a significant effect on the concentration of ROS in the cell. Under conditions where antioxidants minimize cell death, they also slow growth. Significantly, slowing cell growth by other means has the same restorative effect as adding an antioxidant. Based on the solid biochemical and genetic data, Korshunov and Imlay make the case for discarding the use of antioxidants to diagnose conditions that generate increased internal ROS production.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Molecular Microbiology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | antioxidants reactive; oxygen species |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 08 Jul 2024 14:31 |
Last Modified: | 12 Mar 2025 12:24 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/mmi.15292 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:214568 |