Bacteria have a remarkable ability to sense environmental stresses and to respond to these stressors by adapting their metabolism and physiology. In recent publications, investigators have suggested that multiple stresses that cause cell death share the mechanistic feature of stimulating the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). A central piece of evidence cited in these claims is the ability of exogenous antioxidant compounds to mitigate stress-related cell death. The validity of attributing a positive effect of exogenous antioxidants to ROS-mediated stress is challenged by an important study by Korshunov and Imlay in this issue of Molecular Microbiology. This study reports biochemical data that convincingly show that some commonly used antioxidants quench oxidants orders of magnitude too slowly to have a significant effect on the concentration of ROS in the cell. Under conditions where antioxidants minimize cell death, they also slow growth. Significantly, slowing cell growth by other means has the same restorative effect as adding an antioxidant. Based on the solid biochemical and genetic data, Korshunov and Imlay make the case for discarding the use of antioxidants to diagnose conditions that generate increased internal ROS production.

中文翻译：

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解读体内抗氧化剂的作用：一个警示故事


细菌具有感知环境压力并通过调整其新陈代谢和生理机能来应对这些压力源的非凡能力。在最近的出版物中，研究人员提出，导致细胞死亡的多种压力具有刺激活性氧（ROS）形成的共同机制特征。这些主张中引用的一个核心证据是外源抗氧化剂化合物能够减轻与压力相关的细胞死亡。 Korshunov 和 Imlay 在本期《分子微生物学》上发表的一项重要研究对外源抗氧化剂对 ROS 介导的应激产生积极作用的有效性提出了质疑。这项研究报告的生化数据令人信服地表明，一些常用的抗氧化剂淬灭氧化剂的速度太慢，无法对细胞中 ROS 的浓度产生显着影响。在抗氧化剂最大限度地减少细胞死亡的条件下，它们也会减缓生长。值得注意的是，通过其他方式减缓细胞生长与添加抗氧化剂具有相同的恢复效果。基于可靠的生化和遗传数据，Korshunov 和 Imlay 提出了放弃使用抗氧化剂来诊断导致内部 ROS 产生增加的病症的理由。