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Oxidative stress nearly always accompanies all stages of cancer development. At the early stages, antioxidants may help to reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and exhibit anticarcinogenic effects. In the later stages, ROS involvement becomes more complex. On the one hand, ROS are necessary for cancer progression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. On the other hand, antioxidants may promote cancer cell survival and may increase metastatic frequency. The role of mitochondrial ROS in cancer development remains largely unknown. This paper reviews experimental data on the effects of both endogenous and exogenous antioxidants on cancerogenesis focusing on the development and application of mitochondria-targeted antioxidants. We also discuss the prospects for antioxidant cancer therapy, focusing on the use of mitochondria-targeted antioxidants.

Objective To measure the release of plasma nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and to assess the relationship between nuclear DNA level and acute kidney injury occurrence in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Setting Cardiovascular anesthesiology and intensive care unit of a large tertiary-care university hospital. Design Prospective observational study. Participants Fifty adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Interventions Nuclear DNA concentration was measured in the plasma. The relationship between the level of nuclear DNA and the incidence of acute kidney injury after coronary artery bypass grafting was investigated. Measurements and Main Results Cardiac surgery leads to significant increase in plasma nuclear DNA with peak levels 12 hours after surgery (median [interquartile range] 7.0 [9.6-22.5] µg/mL). No difference was observed between off-pump and on-pump surgical techniques. Nuclear DNA was the only predictor of acute kidney injury between baseline and early postoperative risk factors. Conclusions The authors found an increase of nuclear DNA in the plasma of patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting, with a peak after 12 hours and an association of nuclear DNA with postoperative acute kidney injury.