Antioxidant Properties of Fullerene Derivatives Depend on Their Chemical Structure: A Study of Two Fullerene Derivatives on HELFs

Oxidative stress is a major issue in a wide number of pathologies (neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, immune diseases, and cancer). Because of this, the search for new antioxidants is an important issue. One of the potential antioxidants that has been enthusiastically discussed in the past twenty years is fullerene and its derivatives. Although in aqueous solutions fullerene derivatives have shown to be antioxidants, their properties in this regard within the cells are controversially discussed. We have studied two different water-soluble fullerene C60 and C70 derivatives on human embryonic lung fibroblasts at a wide range of concentrations. Both of them cause a decrease in cellular ROS at short times of incubation (1 hour). Their prolonged action, however, is fundamentally different: derivative GI-761 causes secondary oxidative stress whereas derivative VI-419-P3K keeps ROS levels under control values. To gain a better understanding of this effect, we assessed factors that could play a role in the response of cells to fullerene derivatives. Increased ROS production occurred due to NOX4 upregulation by GI-761. Derivative VI-419-P3K activated the transcription of antioxidant master regulator NRF2 and caused its translocation to the nucleus. This data suggests that the antioxidant effect of fullerene derivatives depends on their chemical structure.