[The effects of lycopene on reactive oxygen species and anoxic damage in ischemia reperfusion injury in rats].
OBJECTIVE
To study the protective effects of lycopene (LP) on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury induced by focal cerebral ischemia and oxidative stress in rats.


METHODS
48 male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned into five groups: A (20 mg/kg LP), B (5 mg/kg LP), C (salad oil), D (salad oil) and E (basic feed control). A, B and C groups were given LP or salad oil orally for 15 d, then cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and D group was used as fake surgery control. The contents of reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO), lactic acid (LD) and the activities of nitric oxide synthetase (NOS) in cortex were measured at 24 h after reperfusion. The levels of HIF-1alpha mRNA and Bcl-2 mRNA in hippocampi were determined by using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT- PCR) technique.


RESULTS
ROS levels of A, B, C, D and E groups were (114.23 +/- 18.91), (135.89 +/- 14.17), (171.37 +/- 25.76), (94.24 +/- 2.23) and (92.06 +/- 5.59) fluorescence intensity value/g protein, respectively (F = 9.038, P < 0.01); levels of NO were (6.60 +/- 0.77), (7.13 +/- 0.47), (8.38 +/- 0.80), (5.52 +/- 0.16) and (5.23 +/- 0.51) micromol/g protein respectively (F = 10.197, P < 0.01); levels of NOS were (0.817 +/- 0.016), (0.875 +/- 0.095), (1.030 +/- 0.101), (0.557 +/- 0.094) and (0.595 +/- 0.066) U/mg protein respectively (F = 14.555, P < 0.01); levels of LD were (0.381 +/- 0.069), (0.446 +/- 0.012), (0.576 +/- 0.059), (0.359 +/- 0.021) and (0.310 +/- 0.036) mmol/g protein respectively (F = 10.043, P < 0.01); HIF-1alpha mRNA expression levels in hippocampi were 0.865 +/- 0.274, 0.635 +/- 0.069, 0.491 +/- 0.067, 0.375 +/- 0.052 and 0.361 +/- 0.087, respectively (F = 40.520, P < 0.01); and Bcl-2 mRNA expression levels in hippocampi were 0.263 +/- 0.033, 0.330 +/- 0.028, 0.198 +/- 0.034, 0.304 +/- 0.039 and 0.236 +/- 0.025, respectively (F = 11.003, P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The protective effects of LP may be related with its abilities of decreasing ROS and LD cumulation, alleviating inflammation and up-regulating the expression of protective genes.
Wei
Yan
Y
Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
Shen
Xin-Nan
XN
Mai
Jia-Yi
JY
Shen
Hui
H
Wang
Ruo-Zhong
RZ
Wu
Min
M
D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000378:metabolism; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D000077276:Lycopene; D008297:Male; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000378:metabolism*
D000975:Antioxidants; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019344:Lactic Acid; D002338:Carotenoids; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D000077276:Lycopene