title: Oxygen toxicity in the nervous tissue: comparison of the antioxidant defense of rat brain and sciatic nerve.
abstract: Nervous tissue, central and peripheral, is, as any other, subject to variations in oxygen tension, and to the attack of different xenobiotics; these situations may promote the generation of activated oxygen species of free radical character. Results are presented showing that the content of total glutathione (GSH) in brain is 10-fold that found in the sciatic nerve of the rat (2620 vs. 261 nmol/g wet weight, respectively). The existence of a relatively high superoxide dismutase activity in peripheral nervous tissue, when compared with brain or liver, in combination with the DT-diaphorase activity detected in the sciatic nerve might represent an effective defense mechanism against quinone toxicity, as is also discussed. Nervous tissue, both central and peripheral lack Se-independent GSH peroxidase activity. Finally, the activities of other glutathione-related enzymes studied in the sciatic nerve are very low, when compared with the central nervous tissue, thus suggesting a higher susceptibility of peripheral tissue to oxidative stress damage, since GSH concentration and/or any GSH-related enzymatic activities, e.g. GSH peroxidase or glutathione disulfide reductase, might become limiting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Universitat de València, Spain.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Monsalve
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hermenegildo
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Puertas
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Higueras
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nies
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Segura-Aguilar
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Romá
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D016660:NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone); D010100:Oxygen / Q000633:toxicity*; D011808:Quinone Reductases / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000378:metabolism*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D016660:NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone); D011808:Quinone Reductases; D005978:Glutathione; D010100:Oxygen