Model membranes of cancer cells and normal cells for biophysical characterization of reactive oxygen species and antioxidants interaction

초록

Reactive oxygen species(ROS) are molecules that have high reactivity and are required for cellular functions. The elevation of ROS level, however, can induce pathological conditions, including the induction of apoptosis. Photodynamic therapy(PDT) is a method of rendering ROS levels by using photosensitizers to promote oxidative stress on cancer cells. Unfortunately, elevated levels of ROS in non-targeted areas cause major side effects on patients due to photosensitizers delivered elsewhere. Meanwhile, antioxidants quench ROS by enzymatic and nonenzymatic pathways. Herein, model membranes of cancer cells and normal cells were fabricated to focus on the biophysical characteristics of ROS and antioxidant interactions. It has been determined that normal cell membranes were more vulnerable to ROS than cancer cell membranes. Moreover, ascorbate, which is a water-soluble antioxidant known as vitamin C, reduced ROS effects the most compared to glutathione, alpha-tocopherol, and carotene. These data show that the level of ROS can be efficiently controlled by typical antioxidants to prevent normal cell membrane oxidation in PDT.