The Role of free- and liposomal-N-acetycysteine in paraquat-induced cytotoxicity

Abstract

Paraquat (PQ), one of the most commonly used herbicides worldwide, is hightly toxic to humans and exposure can result in severe clinical situations with no effective treatments available. The toxicity of PQ has been attributed to its ability to continuously produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) via redox cycling. Oxidants have been shown to induce the expression of several early response genes and to activate transcription factors, which may contribute to the inflammatory response associated with PQ injury.