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Detection of Nitric Oxide and Superoxide Radical Anion by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy from Cells using Spin Traps
Published on: August 18, 2012
Superoxide anion radical production in different animal species
R S Sohal1, I Svensson, B H Sohal
1Department of Pathology II, University of Linköping, Sweden.
Abstract:
The general objective of this study was to examine the relationship between oxygen free radicals and the aging process. The rate of superoxide anion radical (O2.-) generation was measured in liver sub-mitochondrial particles from mouse, rat, rabbit, pig and cow, and in flight muscle sub-mitochondrial particles from the housefly. The rate of O2.- generation was determined as superoxide dismutase inhibitable reduction of ferricytochrome c in the presence of antimycin A and KCN. O2.- generation was inversely related to maximum species life span potential (MLSP) (r = -0.92). A 24-fold difference in the rate of O2.- production was observed between the cow and the fly while a 6-fold difference existed among the mammals. The results are interpreted to indicate that under identical conditions, mitochondria from organisms with low MLSP have a relatively greater propensity to generate O2.-. This may be suggestive of innate differences in the molecular organization of the inner mitochondrial membrane among different species.
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