Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Oxidative stress, strain as predisposing factor in pathogenesis

Oxidative stress  
is considered to be involved in a multitude of pathogenic processes 
and is also implicated in the process of aging. 

For the first time, scientists of the  
German Cancer Research Center 
(Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ
have been able to directly observe  
oxidative changes in a living organism. 

Their findings in fruit flies raise doubts about the validity of some widely held hypotheses: 
The research team has found no evidence that the life span is limited by the production of  
harmful oxidants.

Even though comprehensive studies have failed to provide proof until the present day,  
antioxidants are often advertised as a protection against oxidative stress and, thus, health-promoting. 
Dick and colleagues fed their flies with  
N-acetyl cysteine (NAC)
a substance which is attributed  
an antioxidant effect 
and which some scientists consider suitable for protecting the body against presumably dangerous oxidants. 
Interestingly, no evidence of a decrease in oxidants was found in the NAC-fed flies. 
On the contrary, the researchers were surprised to find that NAC prompted the energy plants of various tissues to significantly increase oxidant production.
Yellow light signals emitted by the biosensor indicate oxidant production 
in the tissue of a migrating fly larva. 
(Credit: Tobias Dick, German Cancer 
Research Center)

 "Many things we observed in the flies with the help of the biosensors came as a surprise to us. It seems that many findings obtained in isolated cells cannot simply be transferred to the situation in a living organism," said Tobias Dick, summarizing their findings. "The example of NAC also shows that we are currently not able to predictably influence oxidative processes in a living organism by pharmacology," he adds. "Of course, we cannot simply transfer these findings from fly to man. Our next goal is to use the biosensors to observe oxidative processes in mammals, especially in inflammatory reactions and in the development of tumors."

Related blog post links for further textual matter: 
http://sciencedoing.blogspot.in/2011/12/oxygen-necessary-evil.html
Following sites referred thankfully and reference for further detail: 
#thankfully shared from http://www.sciencedaily.com

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