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Increased Formation of Reactive Oxygen Species, but No Changes in Glutathione Peroxidase Activity, in Striata of Mice Transgenic for the Huntington's Disease Mutation

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Abstract

The formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the activities of the antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) were measured as a function of age in the striatum of mice transgenic for the Huntington's disease (HD) mutation. Striata from R6/1 transgenic male mice were dissected at different ages (11, 19, and 35 weeks). The amount of dichlorofluorescein (DCF), an index of ROS formation, was significantly increased in R6/1 mice at all ages tested, whereas GPx activity remained unchanged when compared with wild-type control animals in all groups evaluated. CAT activity was very low, just above detection in the striata of both control and transgenic mice. Nineteen and 35-week-old R6/1 mice also developed feet clasping behavior, but only 35-week-old animals showed body weight loss. Our findings support an active role of free radicals in the onset and progression of the neurological phenotype of R6/1 mice. We suggest that changes in ROS formation are due to an age-related increased propensity of the striatum of transgenic animals to generate oxygen radicals as a response to the evolving pathological conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Neuroquímica, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía Manuel Velasco Suárez S.S.A., México

    Francisca Pérez-Severiano & Camilo Ríos

  2. Departamento de Fisiología, Biofísica y Neurociencias, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del I.P.N, México

    Francisca Pérez-Severiano & José Segovia

  3. Laboratorio de Aminoácidos Excitadores/Departamento de Neuroquímica, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía Manuel Velasco Suárez S.S.A., México

    Abel Santamaría

  4. Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México

    José Pedraza-Chaverri & Omar N. Medina-Campos

Authors
  1. Francisca Pérez-Severiano
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  2. Abel Santamaría
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  3. José Pedraza-Chaverri
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  4. Omar N. Medina-Campos
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  5. Camilo Ríos
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  6. José Segovia
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to José Segovia.

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Pérez-Severiano, F., Santamaría, A., Pedraza-Chaverri, J. et al. Increased Formation of Reactive Oxygen Species, but No Changes in Glutathione Peroxidase Activity, in Striata of Mice Transgenic for the Huntington's Disease Mutation. Neurochem Res 29, 729–733 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:NERE.0000018843.83770.4b

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:NERE.0000018843.83770.4b

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