title: Monocrotaline: histological damage and oxidant activity in brain areas of mice.
abstract: This work was designed to study MCT effect in histopathological analysis of hippocampus (HC) and parahippocampal cortex (PHC) and in oxidative stress (OS) parameters in brain areas such as hippocampus (HC), prefrontal cortex (PFC), and striatum (ST). Swiss mice (25-30 g) were administered a single i.p. dose of MCT (5, 50, or 100 mg/kg) or 4% Tween 80 in saline (control group). After 30 minutes, the animals were sacrificed by decapitation and the brain areas (HC, PHC, PFC, or ST) were removed for histopathological analysis or dissected and homogenized for measurement of OS parameters (lipid peroxidation, nitrite, and catalase) by spectrophotometry. Histological evaluation of brain structures of rats treated with MCT (50 and 100 mg/kg) revealed lesions in the hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex compared to control. Lipid peroxidation was evident in all brain areas after administration of MCT. Nitrite/nitrate content decreased in all doses administered in HC, PFC, and ST. Catalase activity was increased in the MCT group only in HC. In conclusion, monocrotaline caused cell lesions in the hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex regions and produced oxidative stress in the HC, PFC, and ST in mice. These findings may contribute to the neurological effects associated with this compound.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Rua Coronel Nunes de Melo, 1127-60430-270 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Eduardo Ribeiro
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Honório
authors.forename: Germana Silva
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
authors.forename: Francisca Taciana Sousa
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: José Guedes
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Sena Filho
authors.forename: José Maria
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Barbosa-Filho
authors.forename: Carlos Clayton Torres
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Aguiar
authors.forename: Luzia Kalyne Almeida Moreira
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Leal
authors.forename: Pedro Marcos Gomes
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: David John
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.forename: Marta Maria de França
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Fonteles
authors.forename: Silvânia Maria Mendes
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D016686:Monocrotaline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D009573:Nitrites / Q000378:metabolism; D016877:Oxidants / Q000633:toxicity*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009573:Nitrites; D016877:Oxidants; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D016686:Monocrotaline; D002374:Catalase; D053148:Caspase 3