Disturbed Antioxidant Capacity in Patients with systemic sclerosis associates with lung and gastrointestinal symptoms

Brezovec, Neža (author), Perdan-Pirkmajer, Katja (author), Burja, Blaž (author), Rotar, Žiga (author), Osredkar, Joško (author), Sodin-Šemrl, Snežna (author), Lakota, Katja (author), Čučnik, Saša (author)

The correct balance between reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defense in an organism is disturbed in oxidative stress. To assess oxidative balance in 36 SSc patients and 26 healthy controls (HCs), we measured reactive oxidative metabolites (ROMs), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), lipid peroxidation (measuring 4-HNE), and DNA oxidative damage (measuring 8-OHdG) in serum. Furthermore, DNA breaks in leukocytes of 35 SSc patients and 32 HCs were evaluated using COMET. While we report high ROMs for both SSc patients and age/sex matched HC samples, there was a significant increase in TAC in SSc patients as compared to HCs, and thus also a significantly higher oxidative stress index in SSc patients. TAC was significantly higher in SSc patients with ILD and gastrointestinal involvement, as well as in patients with anti-topoisomerase antibodies. We observe no difference in serum lipid peroxidation status or oxidative DNA damage. However, SSc patients had significantly more leukocyte DNA breaks than HCs; the most damage was observed in patients treated with immunosuppressives. Thus, our study confirms presence of oxidative stress and increased DNA damage in leukocytes of SSc patients; however, it points toward increased antioxidant capacity, which needs to be further studied.

• Language: English
• Keywords: systemic sclerosis, oxidative stress, reactive oxidative metabolites, antioxidants, lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, DNA breaks
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine; FFA - Faculty of Pharmacy
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: 16 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 11, iss. 8, art. 2110
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-185503
• UDC: 616-002
• ISSN on article: 2227-9059
• DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11082110
• COBISS.SI-ID: 159972611
• Publication date in RUL: 07.08.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Biomedicines
• Shortened title: Biomedicines
• Publisher: MDPI AG
• ISSN: 2227-9059
• COBISS.SI-ID: 523006745

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: sistemska skleroza, oksidativni stres, reaktivni oksidativni metaboliti, antioksidanti, peroksidacija lipidov, poškodbe DNK, DNK zlomi

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: J7-3153
• Name: Molekularni mehanizmi specifičnosti pri uravnavanju izločanja in delovanja citokinov mišičnega izvora

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P3-0314
• Name: Sistemske avtoimunske bolezni