Spectroscopic study of in situ-formed metallocomplexes of proton pump inhibitors in water.

Proton pump inhibitors, such as omeprazole, pantoprazole and lansoprazole, are an important group of clinically used drugs. Generally, they are considered safe without direct toxicity. Nevertheless, their long-term use can be associated with a higher risk of some serious pathological states (e.g. amnesia and oncological and neurodegenerative states). It is well known that dysregulation of the metabolism of transition metals (especially iron ions) plays a significant role in these pathological states and that the above drugs can form complexes with metal ions. However, to the best of our knowledge, this phenomenon has not yet been described in water systems. Therefore, we studied the interaction between these drugs and transition metal ions in the surrounding water environment (water/DMSO, 99:1, v/v) by absorption spectroscopy. In the presence of Fe(III), a strong redshift was observed, and more importantly, the affinities of the drugs (represented as binding constants) were strong enough, especially in the case of omeprazole, so that the formation of a metallocomplex cannot be excluded during the explanation of their side effects.

Role of mtDNA disturbances in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease) are becoming increasingly problematic to healthcare systems. Therefore, their underlying mechanisms are trending topics of study in medicinal research. Numerous studies have evidenced a strong association between mitochondrial DNA disturbances (e.g. oxidative damage, mutations, and methylation shifts) and the initiation and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, this review discusses the risk and development of neurodegenerative diseases in terms of disturbances in mitochondrial DNA and as a part of a complex ecosystem that includes other important mechanisms (e.g. neuroinflammation and the misfolding and aggregation of amyloid-ß peptides, α-synuclein, and tau proteins). In addition, the influence of individual mitochondrial DNA haplogroups on the risk and development of neurodegenerative diseases is also described and discussed.