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Updated: Jul 29, 2026

Free Radicals in Chemical Biology: from Chemical Behavior to Biomarker Development
Published on: April 15, 2013
Vitamin E protects proteins against free radical damage in lipid environments
1Cell Biology Research Group, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, U.K.
Abstract:
The fragmentation of the membrane protein monoamine oxidase in submitochondrial particles was induced by defined free radicals during radiolysis and by a system dependent on hydrogen peroxide and a transition metal. By injection of alpha-tocopherol in vivo, the levels of this physiological antioxidant in the mitochondrial preparations could be elevated more than ten-fold. In both radical-generating systems the presence of high levels of alpha-tocopherol in the membrane substantially retarded the protein fragmentation, in parallel with lipid peroxidation. It is suggested that membrane-bound proteins are damaged during lipid peroxidation and that alpha-tocopherol protects cells against both types of damage.
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