Authors: LYUDMIL GEORGIEV TERZIEV, VENETA LYUBENOVA SHOPOVA, VIOLETA YORDANOVA DANCHEVA, GALYA TZVETANOVA STAVREVA, ANGELINA MILCHEVA STOYANOVA
Abstract: We aim ed to study the effect of a glutathione precursor, L-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (OTCA), on the lung antioxidant defense system in an animal asthma model. Materials and methods: The study was carried out on 24 female C57BL/6 mice. The mice were divided into 4 treatment groups: group 1 - control group; group 2 - injected with ovalbumin (OVA) and given an OVA inhalant; group 3 - treated with OTCA and phosphate-buffered saline inhalant; and group 4 -injected with OVA and OTCA and given an OVA inhalant. Under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia the animals were killed by exsanguination 48 h after the last inhalation to obtain a lung homogenate. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GP) and the content of nonprotein sulfhydryl (NPSH) groups in lung homogenate were investigated. Results: OVA decreased the activities of SOD (P = 0.007), CAT (P = 0.004), and GP (P = 0.05) and the NPSH content (P = 0.0008) in the lung homogenate compared with the control animals. Treatment with OVA and OTCA (group 4) resulted in a significant increase in the activities of CAT (P = 0.01) and GP (P = 0.05) and the NPSH content (P = 0.002) compared to the OVA group (group 2). Conclusion: OTCA (160 mg/kg) restored the activities of basic enzymes in the lung antioxidant defense system in an OVA-induced asthma mouse model 48 h after the last nebulization.
Keywords: Asthma, L-2-oхоthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid, lung antioxidant defense system
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