Abstract
Oxidative stress plays an important role in tissue damage associated with many different chronic degenerative diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disorders. In our previous study, a novel dipeptide Pro-Arg derived from protamine hydrolysates was found to possess significant antioxidative activity in vitro. In this study, we compared the antioxidant capabilities of purified and synthesized dipeptide (Pro-Arg) and found both of them had very strong hydroxyl-radical scavenging activity in vitro, even at a very low concentration. The protective effect of the dipeptide against oxidative stress was evaluated using H2O2-induced oxidative stress of human diploid fibroblasts MRC-5 cell model. Our results showed the dipeptide attenuated H2O2-induced cellular oxidative damage, and normalized S phase arrest of MRC-5 cells exposed to H2O2. Our findings demonstrate that Pro-Arg can protect against oxidative stress/damage and H2O2-induced human diploid fibroblasts cell death.
