Rochester: We all know that antioxidants are good for us: most (if not all)
dietary advice includes a plug for lots of antioxidant-rich fruits and
vegetables like blueberries, spinach and sweet potatoes. So why have so
many antioxidant-based therapies failed in clinical trials?
A $1.7 million National Institutes of Health grant to a junior
investigator at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and
Dentistry aims to find out. Antioxidants are beneficial because they protect the body from
reactive oxygen species – a type of free radical that contributes to
diseases like atherosclerosis and stroke – and they may also help to
prevent free radical damage during aging. But, research suggests that
small amounts of reactive oxygen species can be beneficial and are
necessary for many cellular functions, like being able to respond to
different types of stress.
Understanding the protective versus the damaging effects of reactive
oxygen species could be the key to developing a safe and effective
antioxidant therapy that lowers the risk of certain diseases.
Unfortunately, when it comes to reactive oxygen species, scientists
don’t have a useful tool to determine what’s good and what’s bad.
Andrew Wojtovich, Ph.D.
Over the next five years,
Andrew Wojtovich, Ph.D.,
a research assistant professor in the Nephrology Division, will study a
new system that uses light to examine when and where reactive oxygen
species are produced and precisely how they influence cells. This new
approach uses the principles of optogenetics – a combination of genetics
and optics that allows scientists to control particular events within
specific cells.
Wojtovich and
Thomas Foster, Ph.D.,
a professor of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering and a
co-investigator on the new grant, will study the effects of reactive
oxygen species in the roundworm
C. elegans, an organism that has many similarities to mammals.
“We already know that small amounts of reactive oxygen species can
extend lifespan in worms and facilitate wound healing in both worm and
mammalian nerve cells, which is counterintuitive since they also
contribute to age-related damage and neurodegenerative disorders like
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease,” said Wojtovich, who is currently
working in the laboratories of
Keith Nehrke, Ph.D. and
Paul Brookes, Ph.D.,
where he has authored fifteen papers over the last five years. “This
award will support our ultimate goal of directing future antioxidant
therapies to eliminate detrimental and spare beneficial reactive oxygen
species.”
“In
today’s competitive funding environment, receiving a substantial
research grant as a junior faculty member is a unique accomplishment and
conveys NIH’s enthusiasm for the work,” said
Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D.,
Distinguished University Professor in Medicine, Neurology, Pathology
and Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of Rochester Medical
Center. “This award demonstrates URMC’s strong commitment to training,
mentoring and fostering the career goals of the next generation of
scientists.”
