R. Kakkar et al., LIPID-PEROXIDATION AND ACTIVITY OF ANTIOXIDANT ENZYMES IN DIABETIC RATS, Molecular and cellular biochemistry, 151(2), 1995, pp. 113-119
We hypothesized that oxygen free radicals (OFRs) may be involved in pa
thogenesis of diabetic complications. We therefore investigated the le
vels of lipid peroxidation by measuring thiobarbituric acid reactive s
ubstances (TEARS) and activity of antioxidant enzymes [superoxide dism
utase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT)] in ti
ssues and blood of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The ani
mals were divided into two groups: control and diabetic. After 10 week
s (wks) of diabetes the animals were sacrificed and liver, heart, panc
reas, kidney and blood were collected for measurement of various bioch
emical parameters. Diabetes was associated with a significant increase
in TEARS in pancreas, heart and blood. The activity of CAT increased
in liver, heart and blood but decreased in kidney. GSH-Px activity inc
reased in pancreas and kidney while SOD activity increased in liver, h
eart and pancreas. Our findings suggest that oxidative stress occurs i
n diabetic state and that oxidative damage to tissues may be a contrib
utory factor in complications associated with diabetes.