Special relationship between sterols and oxygen: Were sterols an adaptation to aerobic life?

被引:108
作者
Galea, Anne M. [1 ]
Brown, Andrew J. [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ New S Wales, BABS, Sch Biotechnol & Biomol Sci, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
基金
英国医学研究理事会;
关键词
Sterol; Cholesterol; Oxygen; Evolution; Erythrocytes; Cataracts; Mitochondria; Surfactant; PLASMA-MEMBRANE CHOLESTEROL; FATTY-ACID SYNTHESIS; MITOCHONDRIAL CHOLESTEROL; SACCHAROMYCES-CEREVISIAE; HYDROGEN-PEROXIDE; HYPERBARIC-OXYGEN; ACQUIRED CYTORESISTANCE; OXIDATIVE DAMAGE; NUCLEAR CATARACT; EVOLUTION;
D O I
10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2009.06.027
中图分类号
Q5 [生物化学]; Q7 [分子生物学];
学科分类号
070307 [化学生物学]; 071010 [生物化学与分子生物学];
摘要
A fascinating link between sterols and molecular oxygen (O-2) has been a common thread running through the fundamental work of Konrad Bloch, who elucidated the biosynthetic pathway for cholesterol, to recent work supporting a role of sterols in the sensing of O-2. Synthesis of sterols by eukaryotes is an O-2-intensive process. In this review, we argue that increased levels of O-2 in the atmosphere not only made the evolution of sterols possible, but that these sterols may in turn have provided the eukaryote with an early defence mechanism against O-2. The idea that nature crafted sterols as a feedback loop to adapt to, or help protect against, the hazards of O-2 is novel and enticing. We marshal several lines of evidence to support this thesis: (1) coincidence of atmospheric O-2 and sterol evolution; (2) sterols regulate O-2 entry into eukaryotic cells and organelles; (3) sterols act as O-2 sensors across eukaryotic life; (4) sterols serve as a primitive cellular defence against O-2 (including reactive oxygen species). Therefore, sterols may have evolved in eukaryotes partially as an adaptive response to the rise of terrestrial O-2, rather than merely as a consequence of it. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:880 / 889
页数:10
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