title: Redox changes in the brains of reproductive female rats during aging.
abstract: Reproduction is a critical and demanding phase of an animal's life. In mammals, females usually invest much more in parental care than males, and lactation is the most energetically demanding period of a female's life. Here, we tested whether oxidative stress is a consequence of reproduction in the brains of female Wistar rats. We evaluated the activities of glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase; H2O2consumption; protein carbonylation; NO2& NO3levels; and total glutathione, as well as sex hormone levels in brain tissue of animals at 3, 6, 12, and 24months of age. Animals were grouped according to reproductive experience: breeders or non-breeders. Most of the studied parameters showed a difference between non-breeders and breeders at 12 and 24months. At 24months of age, breeders showed higher superoxide dismutase activity, H2O2consumption, glutathione peroxidase activity, and carbonyl levels than non-breeders. In 12-month-old non-breeders, we observed a higher level of H2O2consumption and higher superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities than breeders. By evaluating the correlation network, we found that there were a larger number of influential nodes and positive links in breeder animals than in non-breeders, indicating a greater number of redox changes in breeder animals. Here, we also demonstrated that the aging process caused higher oxidative damage and higher antioxidant defenses in the brains of breeder female rats at 24months, suggesting that the reproduction process is costly, at least for the female brain. This study shows that there is a strong potential for a link between the cost of reproduction and oxidative stress.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Estresse Oxidativo, Departamento de Biofísica, IB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernanda Maciel
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Heemann
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Estresse Oxidativo, Departamento de Biofísica, IB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Carolina Almeida
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Laboratório de Estresse Oxidativo, Departamento de Biofísica, IB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tiago Boeira
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Salomon
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Laboratório de Estresse Oxidativo, Departamento de Biofísica, IB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jordana Salete
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Putti
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Laboratório de Estresse Oxidativo, Departamento de Biofísica, IB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vanessa Krüger
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Engers
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Laboratório de Estresse Oxidativo, Departamento de Biofísica, IB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernanda Schäfer
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Hackenhaar
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Laboratório de Estresse Oxidativo, Departamento de Biofísica, IB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: mara.benfato@ufrgs.br.
authors.forename: Mara Silveira
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Benfato
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D015415:Biomarkers; D004958:Estradiol; D005978:Glutathione
keywords: Aging; Antioxidant enzymes; Brain; Oxidative stress; Reproduction