Reactions between a carotenoid, fucoxanthin and 1,1-diphenyl-2picrylhydrazyl were investigated both under anoxic and aerobic conditions. Fucoxanthin equimolarly reacted with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl under anoxic conditions. Under aerobic conditions, only a part of fucoxanthin consumed 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and the degree of reaction fluctuated with repeated trials. [3-Carotene or other carotenoids, [~-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, licopen and lutein, were also examined in the reaction with 1,1diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl under anoxic conditions. All these compounds scarcely reacted with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl.Key Words: fucoxanthin /carotenoids / antioxidant / 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl / anoxic conditions Polyunsaturated fatty acids are reported to share more than 30% of total fatty acids in diatoms or brown algae. The crude extract of a diatom, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, was demonstrated to have antioxidant activity against the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids [1]. We previously identified the antioxidant substance in the crude extract as fucoxanthin [2]. Fucoxanthin is known to be one of the carotenoids contained in Chromophyta, diatoms and brown algae, of which the distinctive feature is the presence of allene bond and oxygenic Abbreviation DPPH, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl

In 2011, the International Commission on Radiological Protection issued a statement on tissue reactions (formerly termed non-stochastic or deterministic effects) to recommend lowering the threshold for cataracts and the occupational equivalent dose limit for the crystalline lens of the eye. Furthermore, this statement was the first to list circulatory disease (cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease) as a health hazard of radiation exposure and to assign its threshold for the heart and brain. These changes have stimulated various discussions and may have impacts on some radiation workers, such as those in the medical sector. This paper considers emerging issues associated with cataracts and cardiovascular disease. For cataracts, topics dealt with herein include (i) the progressive nature, stochastic nature, target cells and trigger events of lens opacification, (ii) roles of lens protein denaturation, oxidative stress, calcium ions, tumor suppressors and DNA repair factors in cataractogenesis, (iii) dose rate effect, radiation weighting factor, and classification systems for cataracts, and (iv) estimation of the lens dose in clinical settings. Topics for cardiovascular disease include experimental animal models, relevant surrogate markers, latency period, target tissues, and roles of inflammation and cellular senescence. Future research needs are also discussed.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) act as a mediator of ionizing radiation-induced cellular damage. Previous studies have indicated that MnSOD (SOD2) plays a critical role in protection against ionizing radiation in mammalian cells. In this study, we constructed two types of stable HeLa cell lines overexpressing SOD2, HeLa S3/SOD2 and T-REx HeLa/SOD2, to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the protection against radiation by SOD2. SOD2 overexpression in mitochondria enhanced the survival of HeLa S3 and T-REx HeLa cells following γ-irradiation. The levels of γH2AX significantly decreased in HeLa S3/SOD2 and T-REx HeLa/SOD2 cells compared with those in the control cells. MitoSox(TM) Red assays showed that both lines of SOD2-expressing cells showed suppression of the superoxide generation in mitochondria. Furthermore, flow cytometry with a fluorescent probe (2',7'-dichlorofluorescein) revealed that the cellular levels of ROS increased in HeLa S3 cells during post-irradiation incubation, but the increase was markedly attenuated in HeLa S3/SOD2 cells. DNA microarray analysis revealed that, of 47,000 probe sets analyzed, 117 and 166 probes showed more than 2-fold changes after 5.5 Gy of γ-irradiation in control and HeLa S3/SOD2 cells, respectively. Pathway analysis revealed different expression profiles in irradiated control cells and irradiated SOD2-overexpressing cells. These results indicate that SOD2 protects HeLa cells against cellular effects of γ-rays through suppressing oxidative stress in irradiated cells caused by ROS generated in the mitochondria and through regulating the expression of genes which play a critical role in protection against ionizing radiation.

Hyperthermia induced by heat stress (HS) inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells and induces their apoptosis. However, the mechanism underlying HS-induced apoptosis remains elusive. Here, we demonstrated a novel evidence that checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) plays crucial roles in the apoptosis and regulation of cell cycle progression in cells under HS. In human leukemia Jurkat cells, interestingly, the ataxia telangiectasia and Rad-3 related (ATR)-Chk1 pathway was preferentially activated rather than the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM)-checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2) pathway under HS. The selective inhibitors of ATR or Chk1 abrogated HS-induced apoptosis in human leukemia Jurkat cells whereas the inhibition of ATM or Chk2 caused only marginal effects. Inhibition of ATR and Chk1 also abrogated G2/M checkpoint activation by HS in Jurkat cells. The effects of small interfering RNA targeting Chk1 were similar to those of the selective inhibitor of Chk1. In addition, the efficiencies of Chk1 inhibition on G2/M checkpoint abrogation and apoptosis induction were confirmed in the adherent cancer cell lines HeLa, HSC3, and PC3, suggesting that the targeting of Chk1 can be effective in solid tumors cells. In conclusion, these findings indicate a novel molecular basis of G2/M checkpoint activation and apoptosis in cells exposed to HS.

In this study, to better understand the molecular mechanism underlying cellular responses to mild hyperthermia, we investigated gene expression patterns and genetic networks in human myelomonocytic lymphoma U937 cells using high-density oligonucleotide microarrays and computational gene expression analysis tools. The cells were incubated at 41 degrees C for 30 min (mild hyperthermia treatment) and then at 37 degrees C for 0-6 h. Although the mild hyperthermia treatment of the cells did not induce apoptosis, significant increases in the protein expression levels of heat shock proteins (HSPs), namely, Hsp27, Hsp40 and Hsp70, were observed following the activation of heat shock factor-1. Of the 22,283 probe sets analyzed, 423 probe sets were up-regulated and 515 probe sets were down-regulated by >1.5-fold in the cells 3 h post-treatment. Computational gene network analysis demonstrated that the significant genetic network A that contained many HSPs such as DNAJB1, HSPA1A, and HSPA1B was associated with cellular function and maintenance, post-transcriptional modification, or protein folding. Moreover, the significant genetic network B whose core contained v-myc myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog (MYC) was associated with cell morphology, cell cycle, and cellular development. The expression levels of nine selected genes were comparable to those determined by microarray analysis with real-time quantitative PCR assay. The present results indicate that mild hyperthermia affects the expression of a large number of genes and provides additional novel insights into the molecular basis of mild hyperthermia in cells.