Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P47989 (xanthine oxidase)
 8,633 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The effect of a novel flavonoid, venoruton (a mixture of mono-, di-, tri- and tetrahydroxyethylrutosides) has been investigated in healthy rat lenses and compared with diabetic cataract modelled in vitro. One mM venoruton was added to medium simulating healthy and diabetic conditions for the incubated lenses; damage was followed by either stereoscopic photography of the lenses under a Cooperative Cataract Research Group operating microscope or with our recently developed method: the leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) into the lens culture media. The increased LDH activity in the medium and observable development of the opacity were correlated with cell damage, which has been found to be associated with globular degeneration and cataract formation. The extent of opacification and LDH release is reduced if 1 mM venoruton is included in the medium. The protective effect may be related to antioxidant activity against reactive oxygen species: decreased luminol luminescence was shown after venoruton addition to either superoxide-generating hypoxanthine plus xanthine oxidase, or hydrogen peroxide.
 ...
PMID:Modelling cortical cataractogenesis. XVIII. In vitro diabetic cataract reduction by venoruton. A flavonoid which prevents lens opacification. 888 54

The activities of the protective enzymes, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and of xanthine oxidase, an enzyme acting as a source of O(-)(2), were measured in the lenses of alloxan-induced diabetic and control rats. Superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities were found to be significantly decreased, while catalase and xanthine oxidase activities were increased. This means that the ratio of the oxidant/antioxidant enzymes increases in the diabetic rat lens, suggesting an increased oxidative stress. This imbalance is possibly an important contributing factor in the pathogenesis of diabetic cataract.
 ...
PMID:Superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and xanthine oxidase in diabetic rat lenses. 1042 Jan 19

The protective effect of taurine in model in vitro diabetic cataract and the mechanism of this effect were investigated in isolated rat lenses. Isolated rat lenses were incubated in medium 199 in elevated glucose (55.6 m m) with taurine (5 m m). Taurine concentrations in the lenses were determined by amino acid analysis. Accumulative leakage of the intracellular enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was used to estimate damage to the lens, as previously reported. In the clear lenses, prior to vacuole formation, after 1 or 2 days of incubation, the taurine and amino acids in lenses decreased progressively in concentration. In lenses incubated with 5 m m taurine, the level of taurine was increased towards that of control lenses. In taurine-treated lenses LDH leakage was significantly decreased, and lens clarity was maintained, similarly to that found previously for vitamin C and lipoic acid. To test whether taurine has similar antioxidant activity, we tested its ability to decrease luminol luminescence generated by (1) superoxide from hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase and (2) peroxide from diluted glucose/glucose oxidase. For either superoxide or peroxide, the luminescence was decreased to zero, as a function of increasing taurine concentration, at 30 m m, approximately the physiological concentration of taurine in the lens. Spin trapping confirmed that taurine scavenged superoxide. This is consistent with a role for taurine as an important antioxidant protecting the lens against oxidative insults. Amino acids also had antioxidant activity in this assay, and as a group, when all activities were summed, their loss also contributed significantly to the antioxidant loss. Taken in conjunction with Wolff and Crabbe's observation of increased free radical generation by glucose auto-oxidation in diabetes, this suggests a push-pull mechanism for increased oxidative stress in diabetic cataract, involving both increased free radicals and decreased radical scavenging antioxidants.
 ...
PMID:Modelling cortical cataractogenesis 22: is in vitro reduction of damage in model diabetic rat cataract by taurine due to its antioxidant activity? 1047 37