The Universal Soldier: Enzymatic and Non-Enzymatic Antioxidant Functions of Serum Albumin

• Published in: Antioxidants Vol. 9; no. 10; p. 966
• Main Authors: Belinskaia, Daria A., Voronina, Polina A., Shmurak, Vladimir I., Vovk, Mikhail A., Batalova, Anastasia A., Jenkins, Richard O., Goncharov, Nikolay V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Albumin; allosteric modulation; Allosteric properties; antioxidant enzymes; Antioxidants; Bioactive compounds; Biological activity; Computer applications; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cytochrome; Dehydrogenases; Disease transmission; Enzymatic activity; Enzymes; Fatty acids; Health aspects; Hydrogen peroxide; Musculoskeletal system; non-enzymatic antioxidant molecules; Oxidants; Oxidation; Oxidative stress; Proteins; Review; Russia
• ISSN: 2076-3921; 2076-3921
• DOI: 10.3390/antiox9100966

As a carrier of many biologically active compounds, blood is exposed to oxidants to a greater extent than the intracellular environment. Serum albumin plays a key role in antioxidant defence under both normal and oxidative stress conditions. This review evaluates data published in the literature and from our own research on the mechanisms of the enzymatic and non-enzymatic activities of albumin that determine its participation in redox modulation of plasma and intercellular fluid. For the first time, the results of numerous clinical, biochemical, spectroscopic and computational experiments devoted to the study of allosteric modulation of the functional properties of the protein associated with its participation in antioxidant defence are analysed. It has been concluded that it is fundamentally possible to regulate the antioxidant properties of albumin with various ligands, and the binding and/or enzymatic features of the protein by changing its redox status. The perspectives for using the antioxidant properties of albumin in practice are discussed.