Lack of Antioxidant Effect of Selenium on Interaction of Methyl Tert-butyl Ether (MTBE) with Cytochrome c

Antioxidants are of great importance because they can protect the body from oxidation agents. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are constantly producing as a result of metabolic processes. However, environmental factors such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) can enhance oxidation stress. MTBE is a widely used fuel oxygenation liquid that has been shown to cause potential cancer. The use of antioxidants may help to reduce the oxidation condition caused by MTBE. Selenium is an essential element with antioxidant property. In this study, the interaction between Cyt C and MTBE has been investigated in the absence and presence of Se. Molecular level examinations are extremely important to investigate the structural change of proteins by MTBE. In this research, molecular behaviour of Cyt c as an important model of protein, in the presence and absence of MTBE and Se is detected by biophysical methods such as UV-vis, fluorescence and FTIR spectroscopy, chemiluminescence and molecular docking. The results showed that MTBE is able to alter Cyt c tertiary structure by ROS production with no change in secondary structure and Se could not protect the protein from structural perturbation. Molecular docking was also confirmed by the prominent interaction of Cyt c with MTBE and Se at a different site. Then Se can cause the structural change of Cyt c.