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Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) released from mitochondria regulates various cell signaling pathways. Given that H2O2-eliminating enzymes such as peroxiredoxin III (PrxIII) are abundant in mitochondria, however, it has remained unknown how such release can occur. Active PrxIII-SH undergoes reversible inactivation via hyperoxidation to PrxIII-SO2, which is then reduced by sulfiredoxin. We now show that the amounts of PrxIII-SO2 and sulfiredoxin undergo antiphasic circadian oscillation in the mitochondria of specific tissues of mice maintained under normal conditions. Cytosolic sulfiredoxin was found to be imported into the mitochondria via a mechanism that requires formation of a disulfide-linked complex with heat shock protein 90, which is promoted by H2O2 released from mitochondria. The imported sulfiredoxin is degraded by Lon in a manner dependent on PrxIII hyperoxidation state. The coordinated import and degradation of sulfiredoxin provide the basis for sulfiredoxin oscillation and consequent PrxIII-SO2 oscillation in mitochondria and likely result in an oscillatory H2O2 release.

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The active-site cysteine of 2-Cys peroxiredoxins (Prxs), a subgroup of the Prx family, is reversibly hyperoxidized to cysteine sulfinic acid during catalysis with concomitant loss of peroxidase activity. The reduction of sulfinic 2-Cys Prx enzymes, the first known biologic of such a reaction, has been reported to be catalyzed by either sulfiredoxin (Srx) or sestrin (Sesn) 2. The 13-kDa Srx and 60-kDa Sesn 2 show no sequence similarity, however. Whereas the reductase function of Srx has been confirmed by several studies, such is not the case for Sesn 2. We have now shown that (a) recombinant Sesn 2 did not catalyze the reduction of sulfinic Prx I in vitro, whereas Srx did; (b) overexpression of Sesn 2 in HeLa or A549 cells did not affect the reduction of 2-Cys Prxs, whereas overexpression of Srx markedly increased the reduction rate; and (c) the rate of sulfinic 2-Cys Prx reduction in embryonic fibroblasts derived from Sesn 2-knockout mice did not differ from that in those derived from wild-type mice. These results suggest that, unlike Srx, Sesn 2 is not a sulfinic Prx reductase.

Chitosan is a naturally occurring polysaccharide, which has exhibited antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-cancer activities among others. Modification of chitosan by grafting phenolic compounds is a good strategy for improvement of bioactivities of chitosan. We investigated the anti-inflammatory action of gallic acid-grafted-chitosan (GAC) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. GAC inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by inhibiting inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. GAC also suppressed the production and mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). GAC inactivated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) via inhibiting the phosphorylation and degradation of the NF-κB inhibitor, IκB. In addition, GAC suppresses the activation of activator protein-1 (AP-1) through the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2), p38 MAPK, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK). These results suggest that GAC has the potential anti-inflammatory action by downregulating transcriptional factors (NF-κB and AP-1) through MAPK signaling pathways.

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