The involvement of nitric oxide in maneb- and paraquat-induced oxidative stress in rat polymorphonuclear leukocytes

Oxidative stress plays a crucial role in the manifestations of maneb (MB) and paraquat (PQ)-induced toxicity including MB+PQ-induced Parkinson's disease (PD). Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) actively participate in the oxidative stress-mediated inflammation and organ toxicity. The present study was undertaken to investigate the MB- and/or PQ-induced alterations in the indices of oxidative stress in rat PMNs. Animals were treated with or without MB and/or PQ in an exposure time dependent manner. In some sets of experiments, the animals were pre-treated with NOS inhibitors N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and aminoguanidine (AG) along with respective controls. A significant increase in myeloperoxidase (MPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), nitric oxide, iNOS expression and lipid peroxidation (LPO) was observed in PMNs of MB- and/or PQ-treated animals, while catalase and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities were attenuated. L-NAME and AG significantly reduced the augmented nitrite content, iNOS expression and MPO activity to control level in MB and PQ exposed animals. Although the augmented LPO was also reduced significantly in L-NAME and AG treated rat PMNs, the level was still higher as compared with controls. Alterations induced in SOD and GST activities were not affected by NOS inhibitors. The results thus suggest that MB and/or PQ induce iNOS-mediated nitric oxide production, which in turn increases MPO activity and lipid peroxidation, thereby oxidative stress.