Lipophilic methylene violet analogues as modulators of mitochondrial function and dysfunction

Sandipan Roy Chowdhury, Omar M. Khdour, Indrajit Bandyopadhyay, Sidney M. Hecht. In Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 2017,ISSN 0968-0896, doi:10.1016/j.bmc.2017.08.021.

The methylene violet analogues were evaluated for their ability to preserve mitochondrial function in Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) lymphocytes. The analogues were shown to be efficient ROS scavengers, and able to protect cultured FRDA lymphocytes from oxidative stress resulting from inhibition of complex I. The analogues also preserved mitochondrial membrane potential and augmented ATP production. The analogues were found to be better antioxidants than the parent compounds methylene blue and methylene violet.

Keywords: Methylene blue; Methylene violet; Mitochondria; Reactive oxygen species; Friedreich’s ataxia; Cytoprotection