Intracellular Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis
N. К. Zenkov, E. B. Menshchikova, N. N. Volsky, V. A. Kozlov Institute of General Pathology and Human Ecology, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia 2 Research Institute of Clinical Immunology, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia Specific features of developing an oxidative stress, when the programmed cell death (apoptosis) is induced, are analyzed. Cytokines, steroid hormones and other inducers of apoptosis are shown to stimulate generation of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROM) by cells or decrease the cellular antioxidant content leading to DNA de-struction, alteration of both mitochondria functions and membrane lipid composition as a result of intensifying radical oxidative processes. The development of oxidative stress is beleived to be a cause of DNA fragmentation and that of increasing membrane stability in apoptosis. Generation of hydroperoxide and peroxynitrite (sources of ROM species generation in cells) seems to be the key event in ROM cytotoxicity.
