Oxidative damage in the livers of senescence-accelerated mice: a gender-related response.
The prevalence of liver diseases emphasizes the need of animal models to research on the mechanism of disease pathogenesis. Furthermore, most of the liver pathologies have the oxidative stress as an important component. The senescence-accelerated mouse strain SAMP8 was proposed as a valuable animal model for the study of liver diseases. To gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying degenerative processes in SAMP8 mice livers, we studied the oxidative-induced damage in 5-month-old SAMP8 mice and SAMR1, senescence-accelerated-resistant mice. We found profound differences in the antioxidant response to aging between sexes, with males displaying lowest levels of main antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione reductase (GR) in SAMP8; whereas females had no difference in their activities, except for GR, when compared with their SAMR1 controls. The results obtained show the binomial SOD/CAT as an important factor for counteracting reactive oxygen species-dependent damage. There were not pathological differences at the morphological level between both strains, although the decay in protection against free radicals had an immediate response by increasing lipid and protein oxidative damage in SAMP8 mice liver. At 5 months, both male and female SAMP8 mice confront the oxidative stress challenge to different extents. Indeed, proteins seem to be the most vulnerable biomolecule in SAMP8 male mice.
Tomás-Zapico
Cristina
C
Department of Morphology and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain.
Alvarez-García
Oscar
O
Sierra
Verónica
V
Vega-Naredo
Ignacio
I
Caballero
Beatriz
B
Joaquín García
José
J
Acuña-Castroviejo
Darío
D
Rodríguez
María Isabel
MI
Tolivia
Delio
D
Rodríguez-Colunga
María Josefa
MJ
Coto-Montes
Ana
A
D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000235:genetics; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000235:genetics*; D012727:Sex Characteristics