Antioxidant defense system in the prefrontal cortex of chronically stressed rats treated with lithium

PeerJ. 2022 Mar 23:10:e13020. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13020. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Antioxidant enzymes; Chronic restraint stress; Lithium; Prefrontal cortex; Rats.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antioxidants* / pharmacology
  • Lithium Compounds / pharmacology
  • Lithium* / pharmacology
  • Oxidative Stress
  • Prefrontal Cortex / metabolism
  • Rats
  • Superoxide Dismutase / genetics
  • Superoxide Dismutase-1 / metabolism

Substances

  • Antioxidants
  • Lithium
  • Superoxide Dismutase-1
  • Superoxide Dismutase
  • Lithium Compounds

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. 451-03-9/2021-14/200017. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.