Copper is essential for biological processes such as free radical detoxification, mitochondrial respiration and iron metabolism.
Here we discuss the possible mechanisms of free heme detoxification in the malaria parasite and the mechanistic details of compounds, which offer antimalarial activity by inhibiting hemozoin formation.
Overexpression of superoxide dismutase has been implicated in free radical detoxification and suggested to have a major role in defending the mangrove species against severe abiotic stresses [ 46].
In this regard, a recent study showed that during acute hyperglycemia in healthy subjects, several genes involved in free radical detoxification were downregulated (55).
However, the main peroxisomal transcripts affected are involved in free radical detoxification and/or redox signalling (peroxiredoxin and Mpv17), rather than lipid homeostasis.
SOD2 (mitochondrial superoxide dismutase; 12.5 and 5-fold increase at 2 and 24 hrs, respectively) plays a key role in free radical detoxification by destroying toxic free radicals produced within cells during sepsis.
In addition to genes involved in the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, we found changes in the expression of genes involved in free radical detoxification, including glutathione peroxidases and peroxiredoxins (Table 4).
It was shown that stress conditions led to enhanced transcriptional activity of general genes involved in free radical detoxification, heat shock response, mitochondrial unfolded protein response, immunity, circadian rhythm regulation, and reproduction.
A general mechanism for tolerance to osmotic stress among plants involves the accumulation of organic solutes to serve various roles including scavenging free radicals, detoxification and osmotic adjustment [ 42].
Besides their essential catabolic (oxidation of pipecolic, phytanic and very-long-chain fatty acids) and anabolic (synthesis of plasmalogens, bile acids and cholesterol) functions in lipid metabolism (Fig. 1), peroxisomes play a key role in free radical detoxification, differentiation, development and morphogenesis from human to yeast.
