Boston College profs study oxidative stress subcellular to discover its role in diseases

Public release date: 14-Sep-2007

CHESTNUT HILL, MA (9-14-07) — Oxidative stress is known to underlie many human diseases including atherosclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. A team of scientists from Boston College has found a means to discover more about what role oxidative stress plays in the development of diseases by studying it at the sub-cellular level.

Available information about the oxidative stress response has come primarily from studies using reactive oxygen species (ROS) with ill-defined locations within the cell, according to the researchers. Thus, they say, existing models do not account for possible differences between stress originating within particular regions of the cell.

Through the use of novel synthetic intracellular targeting molecules that contain oxygen species-generating compounds that cause oxidative stress, the Boston College researchers have targeted specific locations within the cell — notably the nucleus and mitochondrion — and observed how these molecules interact with nucleic acids (DNA). This will make it easier to determine what parts of a cell are most likely to combat the effects of oxidative stress, and which are weaker, according to the researchers.

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