Definition
Antioxidant enzymes are proteins involved in the catalytic transformation of reactive oxygen species and their by-products into stable nontoxic molecules therefore representing the most important defense mechanism against oxidative stress-induced cell damage.
Characteristics
In biological chemistry, oxidation is the process by which a molecule loses electrons spontaneously or by metabolic coupled reactions.
In cell metabolism, molecule oxidation provides the driven force toward the production of energy-rich intermediates in the form of ATP. Molecule oxidation may be achieved by enzyme-catalyzed reactions or as a result of electron sequestration induced by specific molecules known as oxidants. Clear examples of oxidants are free radicals which are defined as molecules with unpaired electrons in their upper electron layer which explains their high affinity and tendency to...
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References
Bindoli A, Fukuto JM, Forman HJ (2008) The chemistry of peroxidise and redox signalling. Antioxid Redox Signal 10:1549–1564
Fridovich I (1999) Fundamental aspects of reactive oxygen species, or what’s the matter with oxygen? Ann N Y Acad Sci 893:13–18
Halliwell B, Gutteridge JMC (2007) Free radicals in biology and medicine, 4th edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK
McCord JM, Fridovich I (1969) Superoxide dismutase. An enzymic function for erythrocuprein (hemocuprein). J Biol Chem 244:6049
See Also
(2012) Free radicals. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 1454. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_2267
(2012) Superoxide radical. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 3563. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_5580
(2012) Thioredoxin. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 3669. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_5774
(2012) Thioredoxin reductase. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 2669. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_5776
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Sáez, G.T., Están-Capell, N. (2014). Antioxidant Enzymes. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-46875-3_7210
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-46875-3_7210
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