Adding information on exhaled VOCs and possibly expression of inflammation genes to the API significantly improves an accurate asthma diagnosis in preschool children. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrial.gov (NCT 00422747).

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The limited number of ILD patients necessitates multicenter trials to obtain enough power to reach clinically relevant data. The specific fibrotic toxicity of O2. might be a lead in the development of new therapies and of suggesting optimal antioxidant dietary regimes.

Aims/hypothesis High-fat, high-sucrose diet (HF)-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels are implicated in skeletal muscle insulin resistance and mitochondrial dysfunction. Here we investigated whether mitochondrial ROS sequestering can circumvent HF-induced oxidative stress; we also determined the impact of any reduced oxidative stress on muscle insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial function. Methods The Skulachev ion (plastoquinonyl decyltriphenylphosphonium) (SkQ), a mitochondria-specific antioxidant, was used to target ROS production in C2C12 muscle cells as well as in HF-fed (16 weeks old) male C57Bl/6 mice, compared with mice on low-fat chow diet (LF) or HF alone. Oxidative stress was measured as protein carbonylation levels. Glucose tolerance tests, glucose uptake assays and insulin-stimulated signalling were determined to assess muscle insulin sensitivity. Mitochondrial function was determined by high-resolution respirometry. Results SkQ treatment reduced oxidative stress in muscle cells (−23% p<0.05), but did not improve insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake under insulin-resistant conditions. In HF mice, oxidative stress was elevated (56% vs LF p<0.05), an effect completely blunted by SkQ. However, HF and HF+SkQ mice displayed impaired glucose tolerance (AUC HF up 33%, p<0.001; HF+SkQ up 22%; p<0.01 vs LF) and disrupted skeletal muscle insulin signalling. ROS sequestering did not improve mitochondrial function. Conclusions/interpretation SkQ treatment reduced muscle mitochondrial ROS production and prevented HF-induced oxidative stress. Nonetheless, whole-body glucose tolerance, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, muscle insulin signalling and mitochondrial function were not improved. These results suggest that HF-induced oxidative stress is not a prerequisite for the development of muscle insulin resistance.

Doxorubicin is a widely used anthracycline anticancer agent. Its use may cause cardiomyopathy: in fact, the development of cumulative dose-related cardiotoxicity forms the major limitation of clinical doxorubicin use. We therefore searched for protective agents that combine iron-chelating and oxygen radical-scavenging properties. Moreover, any novel protector should not interfere with the cytostatic activity of doxorubicin. After extensive in vitro screening we found that flavonoids could serve this purpose. In particular 7-monohydroxyethylrutoside almost completely protected against the negative inotropic action of doxorubicin in the electrically paced mouse left atrium model. In vivo it gave full protection at 500 mg/kg intraperitoneally against the doxorubicin-induced ST-interval lengthening in the ECG. Moreover, this protector did not influence the antitumor effect of doxorubicin either in vitro using the human ovarian cell lines A2780 and OVCAR-3 and the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 or in vivo in A2780 and OVCAR-3 subcutaneous xenografts in nude mice. Comparison of various iron chelators suggest that iron, in contrast to the general assumption, might not play a crucial role in the oxidative stress-induced toxicity of doxorubicin. Moreover, incubation of vascular endothelial cells with doxorubicin produced overexpression of adhesion molecules, which could be inhibited by 7-monohydroxyethylrutoside. From a study in human volunteers, we conclude that an intravenous dose of 1500 mg/m(2) of 7-monohydroxyethylrutoside is feasible and is safe to be investigated as protection against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity.

a b s t r a c tPlasma citrate levels were found to be elevated in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. Cellular experiments indicated that increased citrate levels might originate from an excess of fatty acids. The impact of elevated citrate levels on oxidative stress was examined. It was found that citrate stimulated hydrogen peroxide induced intracellular oxidative stress in HepG2 cells. This was related to the promotion of iron mediated hydroxyl radical formation from hydrogen peroxide by citrate. The stimulating effect of citrate on the reactivity of iron promotes oxidative stress, a crucial process in the progression of NAFLD.

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