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Free radical mechanisms of tissue injury
Free Radical Biology & Medicine,Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 373-374, 1994 Copyright © 1994 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0891-5849/94 $6.00 + .00
Pergamon
Book Review FREE RADICAL MECHANISMS OF TISSUE INJURY 224 pp. 1992. Price in US: $97.50; Price outside US: $117.00 M . T. MOSLEN and C. V. SMITH, EDITORS CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA
and
BIOLOGICAL OXIDANTS Generation and Injurious Consequences 253 pp. 1992. Price: $69.95 US C. G. COCHRANE and M. m. GIMBRONE, JR:, EDITORS Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA Reviewed by W. A. Pryor Biodynamics Institute, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
These two books are similar in length, both were published in 1992, and both present an overview of selected topics in free radical biology. Both are excellent and highly recommended. The first book is the result of a symposium on free radical mechanisms of tissue injury, organized by Moslen and Smith for the 199th national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, MA, April 1990. Symposium volumes, however, are seldom as good as this one; this volume can stand on its own as an advanced textbook. Each chapter includes both an abstract at the beginning and a section on conclusions and future work at the end. The book starts with a 22 page introduction to free radical mechanisms of tissue injury by C. V. ( " S k i p " ) Smith. The focus of this chapter is on ways in which oxidative stress and tissue injury can be measured, and particularly the degree to which the GSH/GSSG ratio would be expected to change in various circumstances. Both this ratio, and changes in the amount of ethane or pentane in exhaled breath, are discussed in terms of the lack of sensitivity of these measurements to what might be significant changes in oxidative stress levels. Chapter 2, by S. M. H. Sadrzadeh and J. W. Eaton,
discusses hemoglobin-induced oxidant damage to the central nervous system (CNS). The role of iron in tissue damage has been the focus of John Eaton's research for many years, and this chapter reflects an expert knowledge of the subject. The conclusion of the chapter is that iron is a critical mediator in CNS damage. Chapter 3, by B. H. Lauterburg and B. de Quay, reviews ethanol-induced liver damage. Chapter 4, by M. E. Haberland and C. V. Smith, discusses oxidative modifications of lipoproteins in atherosclerosis. This chapter condenses into 19 pages a broad perspective on this topic and is an excellent introduction to this very important field. Chapter 5, by A. A. Taylor and S. B. Shappell, covers mechanisms of myocardial ischemia-reflow injury. This is the longest chapter in the book (52 pages) and includes 440 literature citations. (The literature throughout this book is cited with the complete authors and titles, rather than the abbreviated literature lists that are so often included in symposium books of this sort, making the literature list far more useful and valuable.) The main thrust of this chapter is that antioxidants that provide protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury may do so by complex mechanisms that do not directly involve the antioxidant properties of the 373
Pergamon
Book Review FREE RADICAL MECHANISMS OF TISSUE INJURY 224 pp. 1992. Price in US: $97.50; Price outside US: $117.00 M . T. MOSLEN and C. V. SMITH, EDITORS CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA
and
BIOLOGICAL OXIDANTS Generation and Injurious Consequences 253 pp. 1992. Price: $69.95 US C. G. COCHRANE and M. m. GIMBRONE, JR:, EDITORS Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA Reviewed by W. A. Pryor Biodynamics Institute, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
These two books are similar in length, both were published in 1992, and both present an overview of selected topics in free radical biology. Both are excellent and highly recommended. The first book is the result of a symposium on free radical mechanisms of tissue injury, organized by Moslen and Smith for the 199th national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, MA, April 1990. Symposium volumes, however, are seldom as good as this one; this volume can stand on its own as an advanced textbook. Each chapter includes both an abstract at the beginning and a section on conclusions and future work at the end. The book starts with a 22 page introduction to free radical mechanisms of tissue injury by C. V. ( " S k i p " ) Smith. The focus of this chapter is on ways in which oxidative stress and tissue injury can be measured, and particularly the degree to which the GSH/GSSG ratio would be expected to change in various circumstances. Both this ratio, and changes in the amount of ethane or pentane in exhaled breath, are discussed in terms of the lack of sensitivity of these measurements to what might be significant changes in oxidative stress levels. Chapter 2, by S. M. H. Sadrzadeh and J. W. Eaton,
discusses hemoglobin-induced oxidant damage to the central nervous system (CNS). The role of iron in tissue damage has been the focus of John Eaton's research for many years, and this chapter reflects an expert knowledge of the subject. The conclusion of the chapter is that iron is a critical mediator in CNS damage. Chapter 3, by B. H. Lauterburg and B. de Quay, reviews ethanol-induced liver damage. Chapter 4, by M. E. Haberland and C. V. Smith, discusses oxidative modifications of lipoproteins in atherosclerosis. This chapter condenses into 19 pages a broad perspective on this topic and is an excellent introduction to this very important field. Chapter 5, by A. A. Taylor and S. B. Shappell, covers mechanisms of myocardial ischemia-reflow injury. This is the longest chapter in the book (52 pages) and includes 440 literature citations. (The literature throughout this book is cited with the complete authors and titles, rather than the abbreviated literature lists that are so often included in symposium books of this sort, making the literature list far more useful and valuable.) The main thrust of this chapter is that antioxidants that provide protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury may do so by complex mechanisms that do not directly involve the antioxidant properties of the 373