Antioxidant defense system in the prefrontal cortex of chronically stressed rats treated with lithium
Ljubica Gavrilović,
Nataša Popović,
Vesna Stojiljković,
Snežana Pejić,
Ana Todorović,
Predrag Vujović,
Snežana B. Pajović
Affiliations
Ljubica Gavrilović
Department of Molecular Biology and Endocrinology, “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Nataša Popović
Department of Molecular Biology and Endocrinology, “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Vesna Stojiljković
Department of Molecular Biology and Endocrinology, “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Snežana Pejić
Department of Molecular Biology and Endocrinology, “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Ana Todorović
Department of Molecular Biology and Endocrinology, “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Predrag Vujović
Department for Comparative Physiology and Ecophysiology, Institute for Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Snežana B. Pajović
Department of Molecular Biology and Endocrinology, “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Background This study aimed to investigate the effects of lithium treatment on gene expression and activity of the prefrontal antioxidant enzymes: copper, zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1), manganes superoxide dismutase (SOD2), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in animals exposed to chronic restraint stress (CRS). Methods The investigated parameters were quantified using real-time RT-PCR, Western blot analyses, and assays of enzyme activities. Results We found that lithium treatment decreased gene expression of SOD2, as well as the activities of SOD1 and SOD2 in chronically stressed rats to the levels found in unstressed animals. However, lithium treatment in animals exposed to CRS increased prefrontal GPx activity to the levels found in unstressed animals. Conclusions These findings confirm that treatment with lithium induced the modulation of prefrontal antioxidant status in chronically stressed rats. Our results may be very important in biomedical research for understanding the role of lithium in maintaining the stability of prefrontal antioxidant defense system in neuropsychiatric disorders caused by chronic stress.
