Carnosine and neocuproine as neutralizing agents for copper overload-induced damages in cultured human cells.

ARNAL, NATHALIE; ALANIZ, MARÍA J.T. DE; MARRA, CARLOS ALBERTO

CHEMICO-BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS

ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD

Lugar: New York; Año: 2010

0009-2797

Cu is dangerous when it is present in excess mainly because it can participate in the Fenton reaction producing radical species. As a consequence of copper pollution people are involuntary exposed to copper-overload under a sub-clinical and sub-symptomatological condition which obviously is very difficult to detect. So, we investigated (i) the possible use of chelator molecules, carnosine and neocuproine, to prevent the Cu overload-induced damage on cellular lipids and proteins tested in cell culture human systems, and (ii) the differential response of these two chelator agents in relation to the protective action and the type of copper ion involved in the process using two types of human culture cells (HepG2 and A-549). Cu treatment clearly enhanced (p < 0.01) the formation of protein carbonyls, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and nitrate plus nitrites, with a concomitant decrease in cell survival estimated by trypan dye exclusion test and lactate-dehydrogenase leakage. Simultaneous treatment with Cu and carnosine or neocuproine demonstrated that carnosine is more efficient than neocuproine in protecting both types of cells from the effect of cupric ions on both the cell-associated damages and the decrease of the cellular viability. This observation is supported by the fact that carnosine is not only a complexing agent for Cu(II) but also an effective antioxidant that can dismutate superoxide radicals, scavenge hydroxyl radicals and neutralize TBARs formation. Carnosine should be investigated in more detail in order to establish its putative utility as an agent to prevent copper-associated damages in biological systems.