Cortical and hippocampal mitochondria bioenergetics and oxidative status during hyperglycemia and/or insulin-induced hypoglycemia

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced hyperglycemia and insulin-induced hypoglycemia in cortical and hippocampal mitochondria bioenergetics and oxidative status. For that purpose we used, citrate (vehicle)-treated Wistar rats, STZ-treated rats [i.p., 50 mg/kg body weight] and STZ-treated rats injected with insulin [s.c., dose adjusted to blood glucose levels] 1 h prior to sacrifice to induce an acute episode of hypoglycemia. Several parameters were analyzed: respiratory chain, phosphorylation system, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production rate, and non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidant defenses. Cortical mitochondria from insulin-induced hypoglycemic rats present a significant decrease in the ADP/O index, a significant increase in the repolarization lag phase and a decrease in GSH/GSSG ratio when compared with STZ and control mitochondria. Both STZ-induced diabetes and insulin-induced hypoglycemia promote a significant increase in TBARS levels and a decrease in glutathione disulfide reductase activity. Diabetic cortical mitochondria present a significant decrease in glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity compared to control mitochondria. In turn, insulin-induced hypoglycemia induced a significant increase in GPx and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) activities. In hippocampal mitochondria, insulin-induced hypoglycemia increases the respiratory control ratio whereas both situations, hyper- and hypoglycemia, potentiate H₂O₂ production and decrease the activity of MnSOD. These results suggest that the poor glycemic control that occurs in type 1 diabetic patients undergoing insulin therapy may have detrimental effects in brain areas involved in learning and memory.