Impairment of proteasome that is the protein machinery responsible for degradation of abnormal proteins have been strongly associated with cell death–mediated aging and the pathogenesis of neur odegenerative disorders, eg Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. However, he mechanism by which inhibition of proteasome in cells causes cell death is still unclear. By visualizing intracellular redox state, we revealed that proteasome inhibition led to mitochondrial oxidation followed by cytosolic oxidation, which could be prevented by mitochondrialtargeted antioxidants. Moreover, compounds found in red wine and sesame — resveratrol and sesamin, respectively — prevented intracellular oxidation and improved cellular survival by maintaining mitochondrial function.

Yasuyoshi Sakai, PhD

Professor,
Graduate School of Agriculture

Jun Hoseki, PhD

Associate Professor,
Research Unit for Physiological Chemistry