Tellurium-induced dose-dependent impairment of antioxidant status: differential effects in cerebrum,cerebellum, and brainstem of mice

The effect of various doses of sodium tellurite (0.4, 0.8, and 2.0 mg/kg body weight, orally) on the activity of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione-S-transferase, and catalase) and content of glutathione and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARSs) in the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem of male albino mice was studied after 15 d of treatment. All of the doses of tellurium (0.4, 0.8, and 2.0 mg/kg body weight, orally) have depleted the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the content of glutathione dose dependently in the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem and it was significant with the dose of 2.0 mg/kg. On the other hand, the 2.0-mg/kg dose of tellurium has significantly elevated the content of TBARSs in the cerebrum and cerebellum. The 0.8-mg/kg dose of tellurium has significantly depleted the activities of glutathione peroxidase in the cerebrum and brainstem, glutathione-S-transferase in the cerebrum and cerebellum, catalase in the brainstem, and the content of glutathione in the cerebrum and cerebellum. In contrast, this dose has significantly elevated the content of TBARSs in the cerebrum and cerebellum. However, the depletion in the activity of glutathione reductase with various doses of sodium tellurite was not significant in any brain part of mice. The result suggests that sodium tellurite differentially affects the antioxidant status within various parts of the mice brain.