Halliwell Barry
Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Biomed J. 2014 May-Jun;37(3):99-105. doi: 10.4103/2319-4170.128725.
Cell culture is widely used by biochemists and cell/molecular biologists, but the fluctuating (and often elevated) levels of O 2 to which cells in culture are exposed can affect many of their properties. So can the low level of antioxidants found in some cell culture media. Reagents, especially "antioxidants," added to cell culture media can react with the constituents of the media to produce H 2 O 2 and degradation products that can influence cell behavior. Several published papers describing the cellular effects of ascorbate, polyphenols, and carotenoids have, in fact, reported artifacts due to the actions of the degradation products of these "antioxidants." A greater awareness of the potential artifacts in cell culture studies is needed among the free radical/antioxidant community.
细胞培养被生物化学家以及细胞/分子生物学家广泛使用，但培养中的细胞所接触到的波动（且通常较高）的氧气水平会影响它们的许多特性。一些细胞培养基中发现的低水平抗氧化剂也会产生这种影响。添加到细胞培养基中的试剂，尤其是“抗氧化剂”，会与培养基的成分发生反应，产生过氧化氢和可能影响细胞行为的降解产物。事实上，几篇描述抗坏血酸、多酚和类胡萝卜素对细胞影响的已发表论文都报道了由于这些“抗氧化剂”降解产物的作用而产生的假象。自由基/抗氧化剂领域需要更清楚地认识到细胞培养研究中潜在的假象。
