Comparative study of alloxan effects in copper-loaded and iron-loaded rats: lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, proteasome and antioxidant enzyme activities
Alexandrova, A.; Georgieva, A.; Petrov, L.; Tsvetanova, E.; Kirkova, M.
Central European Journal of Biology 1(2): 235-248
2006
ISSN/ISBN: 1895-104X DOI: 10.2478/s11535-006-0013-7
Accession: 013666629
The in-vivo effects of alloxan on protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation, as well as on proteasome and antioxidant enzyme activities in liver and kidney of copper-loaded and iron-loaded rats, were studied. In control animals, a single alloxan dose ( 120 mg/kg, i.p.) increased blood-glucose concentration at the 24(th) hr and 48(th) hr and, especially, on the 5(th) day. For these periods of alloxan action, no changes in lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme activities were found; only a slight increase of carbonyl content and strong increase of trypsin-like proteasome activity in rat liver on the 5th day was observed. Five days after alloxan injection, the blood-glucose concentration in iron-pretreated rats was similar to that of the controls. However, it was significantly lower in copper-pretreated animals; hence, insulin-mimetic action of copper might be suggested. The lower proteasome activity, measured in liver of copper-pretreated diabetic rats is probably due to a potential copper-chelating ability of alloxan. The present results showed that the action of alloxan was different in copper- and iron-pretreated rats. Analogous studies, using pretreatment with other metals, would contribute to a further elucidation of the role of different metals in diabetes development, especially in regions with environmental metal contamination. (c) Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights reserved.