Effects of dietary fish oil on tissue glutathione and antioxidant defense enzymes in mice with murine aids

The effects of dietary fish oil on major endogenous antioxidant defense par ameters in tissues of mice with murine AIDS (MAIDS) were studied. Sixty-fou r female C57BL/6 mice were fed either a corn oil or fish oil diet (n=32). A fter 4 weeks, each group was divided into two subgroups (n=32). Mice in one subgroup from each diet group were infected with LP-BM5 murine leukemia vi rus by intraperitoneal injection, while those in the other subgroup (contro l) from each diet group were injected with the same amount of saline soluti on. At 4 weeks and 10 weeks post-infection, one half of the mice (n=8) from each subgroup were sacrificed and four organs (the liver, heart, lung and kidney) were excised. Reduced glutathione (GSH) levels and the activities o f glutathione reductase (GR), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione perox idase (GPx) and catalase were determined. The results showed that the viral infection decreased GSH levels in the kidney at both 4 and 10 weeks, and i n the liver and lung at 10 weeks post-infection; while dietary fish oil pre vented the decline of GSH levels in the liver and kidney. The viral infecti on caused a suppression of GPx activity in the lung and heart at 10 weeks p ost-infection; while dietary fish oil prevented the suppression of the enzy me activity induced by infection. The viral infection also caused a decreas e in catalase activity in the heart at 4 weeks, and in the lung, heart and kidney at 10 weeks post-infection; while dietary fish oil increased catalas e activity in these tissues except the lung. The results suggest that dieta ry fish oil may prevent the suppression of tissue endogenous antioxidant de fense capability caused by MAIDS viral infection. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.