Antioxidant properties of rimantadine in influenza virus infected mice andin some model systems

Influenza virus infection is associated with development of oxidative stres s in lung and blood plasma, viz. increase of primary and secondary lipid pe roxidation products. It was established that rimantadine treatment led to a decrease of the products of lipid peroxidation in tissues of mice experime ntally infected with influenza virus A/Aichi/2/68(H3N2). The effect is stro ngest in blood plasma (a decrease of about 50%) and weaker in the lung (abo ut 20%). To elucidate the mechanism of this action of rimantadine, experime nts were carried out with some model systems. The capability of rimantadine to scavenge superoxide radicals (scavenging properties) was studied in a s ystem of xanthine-xanthine oxidase to generate superoxide. The amount of su peroxide was measured spectrophotometrically by the NBT-test and chemilumin esce. Rimantadine does not show scavenging properties and its antioxidant e ffect observed in vivo, is not a result of its direct action on the process es of lipid peroxidation and/or interaction with antioxidant enzymes. The a ntioxidant properties of rimantadine were investigated by measurement of in duced lipid peroxidation in a Fe2+ and (Fe2+ - EDTA) system with an egg lip osomal suspension. Our findings with model systems do not prove an antioxid ant or prooxidant effect of the drug on the processes of lipid peroxidation . Apparently the observed antioxidant effect of rimantadine in vivo is not connected directly with free radical processes in the organism.