Our aim was to investigate the activities of antioxidative defense enzymes in the placenta, fetal blood and amnion fluid in inherited thrombophilia. Thrombophilia was associated with nearly threefold increase of activity (p < 0.001) of the placental catalase (81.1 +/- 20.6 U/mg of proteins in controls and 270.0 +/- 69.9 U/mg in thrombophilic subjects), glutathione (GSH) peroxidase (C: 20.2 +/- ...

Reproduction is thought to come at a cost to longevity. Based on the assumption that increased energy expenditure during reproduction is associated with increased free-radical production by mitochondria, oxidative damage has been suggested to drive this trade-off. We examined the impact of reproduction on liver mitochondrial function by utilizing post-reproductive and non-reproductive house mic...

In this study we evaluated in vivo the tolerance induced by the combination of Se, Zn and Mn (4 microg/ml each) plus Lachesis muta venom (4 ng/ml) (O-LM) to high doses of ionizing radiation. The protective effect of O-LM was investigated on the small-intestine and bone marrow of mice irradiated with a single whole-body dose of 10 Gy employing a (137)Cs source. Mice were sacrificed 3 days after ...

Preterm infants exposed to high concentration oxygen are prone to develop hyperoxic lung damage, which is an importan t underly ing cause of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).1 Although the causative agent for BPD has not been conclusively identified, hyperoxia-induced lung injury i s bel ieved to be a major factor. Data from both cellu lar and whole animal models suggest that hyperoxic lung dam...

BACKGROUND Semen analysis is the cornerstone in the evaluation of male (in)fertility. However, there are men with normal semen tests but with impaired fertilizing ability, as well as fertile men with poor sperm characteristics. Thus, there is rising interest to find novel parameters that will help to predict and define the functional capacity of spermatozoa. METHODS We examined whether there ...

The anti-oxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) has the potential for use as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of various diseases caused by reactive oxygen species. However, achieving this would be difficult without a suitable delivery system for SOD. We previously reported that PC-SOD, in which four molecules of a phosphatidylcholine (PC) derivative were covalently bound to each dimer o...

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa secretory product pyocyanin damages lung epithelium, likely due to redox cycling of pyocyanin and resultant superoxide and H(2)O(2) generation. Subcellular site(s) of pyocyanin redox cycling and toxicity have not been well studied. Therefore, pyocyanin's effects on subcellular parameters in the A549 human type II alveolar epithelial cell line were examined. Confocal a...

The basal expression patterns of NO synthase (NOS; endothelial [eNOS], neuronal [nNOS], and cytokine-inducible [iNOS]) and superoxide dismutase (SOD; extracellular membrane bound [ECSOD], MnSOD, and CuZnSOD) isoforms in ferret heart (tissue sections and isolated myocytes) were determined by immunofluorescent localization. We demonstrate the following for the first time in the mammalian heart: (...

The aging heart is characterized by a progressive decline in contractile function and diastolic relaxation. Amongst the factors implicated in these changes is a progressive replacement fibrosis secondary to cardiomyocyte death, oxidative damage, and energetic deficit, each of which may be secondary to impaired mitochondrial function. Here, we performed an in-depth examination of mitochondrial f...

Alterations in the antioxidative defense parameters upon chronic stress are considered critical for pathophysiology of stress related psychiatric disorders, and their status in blood serves as biomarker for effects of pharmacological treatments. The present study was designed to investigate the modulation of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes (AOEs): CuZn superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), catalase (...