The Effect of Antioxidants on the Aging and Senescence of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Exposed to Oxidative Stress
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
11th Grade
Presentation Topic
Cell and Molecular Biology
Presentation Type
Mentored
Abstract
Cellular senescence, a hallmark of aging, is a mechanism that stops the division of cells (López-Otín et al., 2013). In particular, the senescence of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) has been found to be implicated in the development of many age-related diseases (Chi et al., 2019). Oxidative stress, which contributes to aging and cellular senescence, can be generated by an overabundance of free radicals; fortunately, antioxidants should theoretically be able to limit the production of excess free radicals (Fusco, 2007). The purpose of this study was to observe how various treatments of eugenol, quercetin, curcumin, methone, and garcinol affect the percentage of senescent cells in VSMCs exposed to oxidative stress. It was hypothesized that VSMCs treated with curcumin or quercetin would display a reduced percentage of senescent cells since, in past studies, both antioxidants have been found to have an effect on the free radical production alone or with another compound (Pieńkowska et al., 2020; Ovadya & Krizhanovsky, 2018). The VSMCs were incubated until reaching 20%-30% confluence and, then, treated with H2O2 and a selected antioxidant. After 48 hours, the cells were fixed, stained, and counted using SABG protocol. Although inferential statistics could not be conducted, the data suggested that the antioxidants curcumin, eugenol, garcinol, and quercetin at respective concentrations of 2, 50, 15, and 2 microM were most effective. It may be important to consider if antioxidant supplementation would be effective against surplus free radicals, considering that much of the population already overdoses on antioxidants (Jabłonowska-Lietz et al., 2013).
Recommended Citation
Divekar, Sanvi, "The Effect of Antioxidants on the Aging and Senescence of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Exposed to Oxidative Stress" (2023). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 17.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2023/all/17
Location
ECL 104
Start Date
3-25-2023 11:30 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
The Effect of Antioxidants on the Aging and Senescence of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Exposed to Oxidative Stress
ECL 104
Cellular senescence, a hallmark of aging, is a mechanism that stops the division of cells (López-Otín et al., 2013). In particular, the senescence of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) has been found to be implicated in the development of many age-related diseases (Chi et al., 2019). Oxidative stress, which contributes to aging and cellular senescence, can be generated by an overabundance of free radicals; fortunately, antioxidants should theoretically be able to limit the production of excess free radicals (Fusco, 2007). The purpose of this study was to observe how various treatments of eugenol, quercetin, curcumin, methone, and garcinol affect the percentage of senescent cells in VSMCs exposed to oxidative stress. It was hypothesized that VSMCs treated with curcumin or quercetin would display a reduced percentage of senescent cells since, in past studies, both antioxidants have been found to have an effect on the free radical production alone or with another compound (Pieńkowska et al., 2020; Ovadya & Krizhanovsky, 2018). The VSMCs were incubated until reaching 20%-30% confluence and, then, treated with H2O2 and a selected antioxidant. After 48 hours, the cells were fixed, stained, and counted using SABG protocol. Although inferential statistics could not be conducted, the data suggested that the antioxidants curcumin, eugenol, garcinol, and quercetin at respective concentrations of 2, 50, 15, and 2 microM were most effective. It may be important to consider if antioxidant supplementation would be effective against surplus free radicals, considering that much of the population already overdoses on antioxidants (Jabłonowska-Lietz et al., 2013).
