Human hair proteins as natural reactive oxygen species scavengers for in vitro applications

Solubilized hair proteins exhibit antioxidant properties due to their intrinsically high cysteine content. Human hair keratins (HHK) exhibit a superior radical scavenging capacity than Keratin assocaited proteins (KAPs). Incorporating HHK as media supplement yields efficient cyto-protection effect by quenching ROS levels against acute H2O2 exposure Maintenance of cytoprotective genes, HMOX1 and SOD2 were observed in human hair keratin-treated cells challenged with acute oxidation stress. AbstractHuman hair proteins are recognized for their intrinsically high cysteine content. They can be solubilized while preserving their highly reductive thiol groups for free radical scavenging applications. The presence of aromatic and nucleophilic amino acids such as methionine, serine, phenylalanine, and threonine further contribute to the antioxidative potential of this material. Herein, utilizing the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and acellular 2 ′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H2DCFDA) assays, keratins are demonstrated to possess the highest radical scavenging activity among the studied hair proteins. Consequently, protection against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) cultured in human hair keratin supplemented media is demonstrated. Quenching of reactive oxygen species in the HDF is observed using the CellROX Green dye and the expression levels of antioxidant (HMOX1, SOD2, GPX1) and tumor suppressor (TP53) genes is analyz...
Source: Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials - Category: Materials Science Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research