The alteration of glutathione peroxidase activity in rat organs after lead exposure

Abstract

The activity response of the antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR) and the contents of thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS) were investigated in rats exposed to lead. The enzyme activities were determined in the liver, kidney and heart of male and female rats which were received 100 mg and 1000 mg of lead acetate per liter water for 18 weeks. The statistical analyses indicated the differences related to the organs and to the sex of animals. Administration of lead evoked decrease of GPx activity in the kidney of both male and female rats. On the contrary, GPx activity increased in the heart of female rats, while in the male rats the higher dose of lead evoked a decrease in activity. In the kidneys of male rats and in the heart of female rats thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), an indicators of oxidative stress, significantly increased in rats which were given the high lead dose. Most likely the observed changes could be a compensatory response to different lead accumulation in the male and female organs and also the possible distinct mechanisms in ROS elimination.

Evaluation of mesenchymal stem cells in treatment of infertility in male rats

“…Some studies suggested that oxidative stress is a potential contributor to lead toxicity and that lead directly or indirectly changes the pro-oxidant and antioxidant balance in the biological system by the generation of more reactive oxygen species (ROS), which elicits oxidative damage of proteins, lipids and DNA [ 8 – 10 ]. Antioxidant defenses, such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase (GR), are involved in counteracting the toxicity of ROS [ 11 ].…”

Lead Exposure and Oxidative Stress: A Systematic Review

“…According to the authors, this decline may be due to the exhaustion and overutilization of these enzymes by the OS products. The differences in GPx activity observed in experimental studies can be attributed to differences in the animal species used or to the fact that some studies analyzed GPx in the erythrocytes (Sivaprasad et al 2003 ;Martinez-Haro et al 2011 ), while other studies examined the activity of GPx in renal and aortic tissues (Farmand et al 2005 ;Sobeková et al 2009 ). The different doses of lead used in these studies represent another possibility that explains the divergent outcomes (Farmand et al 2005 ).…”

Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Volume 236

“…However, Kasperczyk et al ( 2009 ) reported a negative correlation between GPx activity and BLL. The differences in GPx activity observed in experimental studies can be attributed to differences in the animal species used or to the fact that some studies analyzed GPx in the erythrocytes (Sivaprasad et al 2003 ;Martinez-Haro et al 2011 ), while other studies examined the activity of GPx in renal and aortic tissues (Farmand et al 2005 ;Sobeková et al 2009 ). Sugawara et al ( 1991 ) also noted reduction in GPx activity in the case group and suggested that this decrease may play an important role in the enhancement of LPO.…”