α-Tocopherol is an effective Phase II enzyme inducer: protective effects on acrolein-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in human retinal pigment epithelial cells.
Vitamin E has long been identified as a major lipid-soluble chain-breaking antioxidant in mammals. α-Tocopherol is a vitamin E component and the major form in the human body. We propose that, besides its direct chain-breaking antioxidant activity, α-tocopherol may exert an indirect antioxidant activity by enhancing the cell's antioxidant system as a Phase II enzyme inducer. We investigated α-tocopherol's inducing effect on Phase II enzymes and its protective effect on acrolein-induced toxicity in a human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell line, ARPE-19. Acrolein, a major component of cigarette smoke and also a product of lipid peroxidation, at 75 μmol/L over 24 h, caused significant loss of ARPE-19 cell viability, increased oxidative damage, decreased antioxidant defense, inactivation of the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway, and mitochondrial dysfunction. ARPE-19 cells have been used as a model of smoking- and age-related macular degeneration. Pretreatment with α-tocopherol activated the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway by increasing Nrf2 expression and inducing its translocation to the nucleus. Consequently, the expression and/or activity of the following Phase II enzymes increased: glutamate cysteine ligase, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1, heme-oxygenase 1, glutathione S-transferase and superoxide dismutase; total antioxidant capacity and glutathione also increased. This antioxidant defense enhancement protected ARPE-19 cells from an acrolein-induced decrease in cell viability, lowered reactive oxygen species and protein oxidation levels, and improved mitochondrial function. These results suggest that α-tocopherol protects ARPE-19 cells from acrolein-induced cellular toxicity, not only as a chain-breaking antioxidant, but also as a Phase II enzyme inducer.
Institute for Nutritional Science, Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
Zhihui
Z
Feng
Zhongbo
Z
Liu
Xuesen
X
Li
Haiqun
H
Jia
Lijuan
L
Sun
Chuan
C
Tian
Lihong
L
Jia
Jiankang
J
Liu
D000171:Acrolein / Q000633:toxicity*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D005721:Glutamate-Cysteine Ligase / Q000378:metabolism; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016660:NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone); D051267:NF-E2-Related Factor 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D055213:Retinal Pigment Epithelium / Q000166:cytology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000975:Antioxidants; D051267:NF-E2-Related Factor 2; C495635:NFE2L2 protein, human; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D000171:Acrolein; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D016660:NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone); C447479:NQO1 protein, human; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D005721:Glutamate-Cysteine Ligase; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol