Bioreductive Activation/Detoxification of Prooxidant Xenobiotics and Drugs 2021

Dear Colleagues,

Quinones, nitroaromatic compounds, and aromatic N-oxides represent important groups of anticancer, antimicrobial, and antiparasitic agents used with variable success. Additionally, nitroaromatics comprise an important group of industrial pollutants and are widely used as explosives. Importantly, the therapeutic activity and cytotoxicity or side-action of the above groups of compounds are most frequently attributed to their single- or two-electron reduction, performed mainly by flavoenzymes or low-potential FeS redox proteins. Depending on the reaction mechanism and the presence of reductively activated alkylating or leaving groups, bioreductive events may either confer cytotoxicity to the above compounds by means of oxidative stress or formation of alkylating products or contribute to their detoxification. Interestingly, similar bioreductive events occur at the initial steps of nitroaromatic pollutants’ biodegradation.

The diversification of cancer chemotherapy and tumor imaging methods and the emergence of parasite strains resistant to classical drugs require the permanent synthesis of new representatives of these compounds and studies of their mechanisms of action. The same applies for the design of new methods of biodegradation of prooxidant pollutants.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide an updated point of view about the enzymatic mechanisms of single- and two-electron reduction of quinones, nitroaromatic compounds, aromatic N-oxides, and other groups of prooxidant compounds, their possible enzymatic targets, their role(s) in compound cytotoxicity or therapeutic activity, and their biodegradation efficiency.

Prof. Dr. Narimantas K. Cenas
Guest Editor

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