Tag Archives: N-acetyl cysteine
Determination the binding ability of N-acetyl cysteine and its derivatives with SARS-COV-2 main protease using molecular docking and molecular dynamics studies
A. H. Shntaif*, N. A. Alrazzak, A. Bader, A. M. Almarzoqi
University of Babylon, College of Science for Women, Iraq;
*e-mail: ahmed1979sh@gmail.com
Received: 25 May 2021; Accepted: 22 September 2021
N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) drug has been used as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent in clinical practice and more recently in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Using docking analysis and molecular dynamics studies we compare the interaction between of N-acetyl cysteine and its derivatives with SARS-COV-2 main protease (Mpro) which is essential for processing the proteins translated from the viral RNA. The results obtained from this study showed that NAC benzyl ester (NACBn), NAC ethyl ester (NACEt) and NAC amide (NACA) could bind with SARS-COV-2 protease better than NAC drug.
Effect of N-acetyl cysteine on oxidative stress and Bax and Bcl2 expression in the kidney tissue of rats exposed to lead
M. Gholami1, A. B. Harchegani2, S. Saeedian3,
M. Owrang4, M. R. Parvizi1*
1Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;
2Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;
3Medical Genomic Research Center, Tehran Medicine Sciences Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran;
4Faculty of Medicine, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran;
*e-mail: mparvizi@alumnus.tums.ac.ir
Received: 30 May 2020; Accepted: 17 December 2021
This study aimed to consider the lead-induced oxidative damage of the kidney of male rats and the role of antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in preserving cells against Pb toxicity. Rats were randomly divided into five groups including G1 (control), G2 (single 70 mg/kg dose of Pb), G3 (continuous daily 2 mg/kg dosing of Pb for 4 weeks), G4 (single dose of Pb + 50 mg/kg NAC), and G5 (continuous daily dosing of Pb + 50 mg/kg NAC). The level of malonic dialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity were measured spectrophotometrically.The level of Pb in serum and kidney tissue was measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Expression of Bax and Bcl2 genes was estimated using RT-PCR. It was shown that single and continuous exposure to Pb caused a considerable increase of Pb content in serum and kidney tissue of rats in G2 and G3 groups compared to other groups. NAC treatment significantly improved TAC values and decreased MDA values in the serum of rats exposed to Pb. Single and continuous Pb dosing caused a 3.9- and 13.1-fold increase in Bax expression and 1.5-fold and 2.1-fold decrease in Bcl2 expression in a kidney tissue respectively. The current study revealed that single and especially continuous Pb exposure was strongly associated with Pb accumulation, antioxidant depletion, oxidative stress and kidney cells apoptosis. NAC can help protect kidney tissue against Pb by elevating antioxidant capacity, mitigating oxidative stress and normalizing Bax and Bcl2 genes expression.