J. Mršić-Pelčić, K. Pilipović, D. Vitezić, G. Župan
Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Croatia
In the present study, we examined the effect of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px)) activities in rat cortex.
Right MCAO was induced in male Hannover Wistar rats (250-350 g) for 1 hr. After 23 hrs of reperfusion, ischemic animals were sacrificed and the levels of lipid peroxidation, SOD and GSH-Px activities were determined spectrophotometrically in the right and left cortex. Sham operated animals served as the control group.
Focal cerebral ischemia significantly increased the level of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) in the right cortex in comparison to the control group while SOD and GSH-Px activities were not affected. MCAO did not cause contralateral cortical damage since TBARS levels as well as antioxidant enzymes activities were not statistically different in the left cortex.
Our results showed that transient focal cerebral ischemia caused oxidative lipid damage in the right cortex of rats after 23 hrs of reperfusion without affecting antioxidant enzyme activities. Changes in activities of above mentioned parameters in left cortex did not reach the level of significance.
Supported by the Croatian Ministry of Sciences, Education and Sports, Grant 062-0620529-0518.
Keywords: focal cerebral ischemia, lipid peroxidation, SOD, GSH-Px, cortex, rat