N-Acetylcysteine as an antioxidant and disulphide breaking agent: the reasons why
N-Acetylcysteine as an antioxidant and disulphide breaking agent: the reasons why
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DOI：
10.1080/10715762.2018.1468564
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发表时间：
2018-01-01
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
Sergio, Francesco
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Aldini, Giancarlo;Altomare, Alessandra;Sergio, Francesco
本文对N-乙酰半胱氨酸（NAC）的抗氧化和还原活性的主要分子机制进行了总结和评述。抗氧化作用是由于NAC作为还原型谷胱甘肽（GSH）前体的能力; GSH是众所周知的直接抗氧化剂和几种抗氧化酶的底物。此外，在内源性Cys和GSH发生显著消耗的某些条件下，NAC可以充当某些氧化剂物质如NO2和HOX的直接抗氧化剂。NAC的抗氧化活性也可能是由于其破坏硫醇化蛋白质的作用，从而释放游离硫醇以及还原的蛋白质，其在某些情况下，例如对于巯基白蛋白，具有重要的直接抗氧化活性。除了参与抗氧化机制之外，NAC的二硫化物破坏活性也解释了其粘液溶解活性，这是由于其减少高度交联的粘液糖蛋白的作用。还解释了解释NAC的有效二硫化物断裂活性的化学特征。
The main molecular mechanisms explaining the well-established antioxidant and reducing activity of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), the N-acetyl derivative of the natural amino acid L-cysteine, are summarised and critically reviewed. The antioxidant effect is due to the ability of NAC to act as a reduced glutathione (GSH) precursor; GSH is a well-known direct antioxidant and a substrate of several antioxidant enzymes. Moreover, in some conditions where a significant depletion of endogenous Cys and GSH occurs, NAC can act as a direct antioxidant for some oxidant species such as NO2 and HOX. The antioxidant activity of NAC could also be due to its effect in breaking thiolated proteins, thus releasing free thiols as well as reduced proteins, which in some cases, such as for mercaptoalbumin, have important direct antioxidant activity. As well as being involved in the antioxidant mechanism, the disulphide breaking activity of NAC also explains its mucolytic activity which is due to its effect in reducing heavily cross-linked mucus glycoproteins. Chemical features explaining the efficient disulphide breaking activity of NAC are also explained.