title: The effects of acute ethanol exposure and ageing on rat brain glutathione metabolism.
abstract: Binge alcohol consumption in adolescents is increasing, and it has been proposed that immature brain deals poorly with oxidative stress. The aim of our work was to study the effect of an acute dose of ethanol on glutathione (GSH) metabolism in frontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum of juvenile and adult rats. We have observed no change in levels of glutathione produced by acute alcohol in the three brain areas studied of juvenile and adult rats. Only in the frontal cortex the ratio of GSH/GSSG was increased in the ethanol-treated adult rats. GSH levels in the hippocampus and striatum were significantly higher in adult animals compared to young ones. Higher glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity in adult rats was observed in frontal cortex and in striatum. Our data show an increased GSH concentration and GPx activity in different cerebral regions of the adult rat, compared to the young ones, suggesting that age-related variations of total antioxidant defences in brain may predispose young brain structures to ethanol-induced, oxidative stress-mediated tissue damage.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, Av. Seminario s/n., Moncada, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sommavilla
authors.forename: M Victoria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Villarejo
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Almansa
authors.forename: Violeta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Vallejo
authors.forename: Jorge M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Barcia
authors.forename: Francisco Javier
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miranda
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005978:Glutathione / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D005978:Glutathione