title: Alpha-fetoprotein, identified as a novel marker for the antioxidant effect of placental extract, exhibits synergistic antioxidant activity in the presence of estradiol.
abstract: Placenta, as a reservoir of nutrients, has been widely used in medical and cosmetic materials. Here, we focused on the antioxidant properties of placental extract and attempted to isolate and identify the main antioxidant factors. Porcine placental extracts were prepared through homogenization or acid hydrolysis, and their antioxidant activity was investigated in the human keratinocyte HaCaT cell line. Treatment with homogenized placental extract (H-PE) increased the cell viability of H2O2-treated HaCaT cells more than two-fold. H-PE treatment suppressed H2O2-induced apoptotic and necrotic cell death and decreased intracellular ROS levels in H2O2-treated HaCaT cells. The antioxidant factors in H-PE were found to be thermo-unstable and were thus expected to include proteins. The candidate antioxidant proteins were fractionated with cation-exchange, anion-exchange, and size-exclusion chromatography, and the antioxidant properties of the chromatographic fractions were investigated. We obtained specific antioxidant fractions that suppressed ROS generation and ROS-induced DNA strand breaks. From silver staining and MALDI-TOF analyses, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) precursor was identified as a main marker for the antioxidant effect of H-PE. Purified AFP or ectopically expressed AFP exhibited synergistic antioxidant activity in the presence of estradiol. Taken together, our data suggest that AFP, a serum glycoprotein produced at high levels during fetal development, is a novel marker protein for the antioxidant effect of the placenta that exhibits synergistic antioxidant activity in the presence of estradiol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Animal Resources Research Center, and Incurable Disease Animal Model and Stem Cell Institute (IDASI), Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Yeon
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Animal Resources Research Center, and Incurable Disease Animal Model and Stem Cell Institute (IDASI), Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Woo
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Animal Resources Research Center, and Incurable Disease Animal Model and Stem Cell Institute (IDASI), Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: BongWoo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Animal Resources Research Center, and Incurable Disease Animal Model and Stem Cell Institute (IDASI), Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hae Na
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Animal Resources Research Center, and Incurable Disease Animal Model and Stem Cell Institute (IDASI), Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Su-Jeong
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Animal Resources Research Center, and Incurable Disease Animal Model and Stem Cell Institute (IDASI), Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Minjung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, Sogang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sol
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, Sogang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jungho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Animal Resources Research Center, and Incurable Disease Animal Model and Stem Cell Institute (IDASI), Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young Bong
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Animal Resources Research Center, and Incurable Disease Animal Model and Stem Cell Institute (IDASI), Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Hoi
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Animal Resources Research Center, and Incurable Disease Animal Model and Stem Cell Institute (IDASI), Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ssang-Goo
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009336:Necrosis; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010924:Placental Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D034421:Sus scrofa; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D015415:Biomarkers; D010924:Placental Extracts; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D004958:Estradiol; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide