Efficacy of propyl selenoethers against peroxyl radical induced protein damage: Effect of functional group substitution

Proteins are the critical molecules for cellular functionality and are also considered to be highly susceptible for reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative damages. The present study was aimed to evaluate some simple water soluble aliphatic organoselenium compounds bearing different functional groups but of similar carbon chain (propyl) length for protective effect against 2,2’-azobis-(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH)-induced oxidative damage using mitochondria as an in vitro model. The results indicated that APPH (20 mM) treatment of mitochondrial fraction induced protein carbonylation leading to inactivation of redox enzymes and electron transport chain (ETC) and ultimately the mitochondrial dysfunction. On the other hand, treatment with 0.5 mM of monoselenobutyric acid (SeBA) and monoselenopropyl alcohol (SePOH) significantly prevented APPH-induced protein carbonylation in mitochondrial fraction and restored activities of mitochondrial proteins. On contrary, monoselenopropyl amine (SePAm) treatment at identical concentration did not show significant protection to mitochondrial activity from AAPH-induced oxidative damages. Above results are in concurrence to the reported peroxyl radical savaging activities of above molecules. In conclusion, SeBA and SePOH are potential candidate molecules to protect proteins from oxidative damages and therefore can be useful for management of oxidative stress in cellular models.