M. Whiteman et B. Halliwell, THIOUREA AND DIMETHYLTHIOUREA INHIBIT PEROXYNITRITE-DEPENDENT DAMAGE - NONSPECIFICITY AS HYDROXYL RADICAL SCAVENGERS, Free radical biology & medicine, 22(7), 1997, pp. 1309-1312
and, more recently, dimethylthiourea, have been used as hydroxyl radic
al (OH.) scavengers in experiments both in vitro and in vivo. We show
that both compounds can inhibit nitration of the amino acid tyrosine o
n addition of peroxynitrite, and also the inactivation of alpha(1)-ant
iproteinase by peroxynitrite. Hence, protective effects of (dimethyl)
thiourea could be due to inhibition of peroxynitrite-dependent damage
as well as to OH. scavenging, and these compounds must not be regarded
as specific OH. scavengers. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.