Alteration of antioxidant status following sympathectomy: Differential effects of modified plasma levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline

The influence of altered levels of endogenous catecholamines following adrenalectomy or 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OH) treatment (alone or in combination) on enzymatic (glutathione reductase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase) and non-enzymatic (glutathione) antioxidant components of heart, liver, kidney, lung and erythrocytes in male Wistar rats was investigated. Functional antioxidant status was assessed in terms of susceptibility to t-butylhydroperoxide-induced sulfhydryl group oxidation (an indirect measure of glutathione depletion) and lipid peroxidation, as measured by thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) formation. Reduced levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline resulted from adrenalectomy and 6-OH treatment, respectively, while a combination of these treatments led to a reduction in the levels of both catecholamines. Adrenalectomy was associated with alterations in glutathione reductase activity in the heart and liver (increased). 6-OH treatment alone produced an elevation in glutathione reductase activity only in the heart. In adrenalectomized animals, 6-OH treatment produced no further increases in glutathione reductase activities of heart or liver. In lung, however, the combination of adrenalectomy and 6-OH treatment caused an elevation in both glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase activities. Glutathione levels of liver alone were elevated following adrenalectomy, while those of erythrocytes and liver (but not other tissues investigated) were increased by the combination of adrenalectomy and 6-OH treatment. The kidney was relatively resistant to the effects of sympathectomy and showed no changes in any of the antioxidant components measured. Adrenalectomy alone or in combination with 6-OH produced an increase in susceptibility to peroxide-induced sulfhydryl group oxidation only in the heart. 6-OH treatment caused a reduction in peroxide-induced TBARS formation only in the kidney. Both adrenalectomy and the combination of adrenalectomy and 6-OH treatment were associated with reduced TBARS formation in the liver, lung and kidney, but not heart. Results from this study demonstrate that the effects of sympathectomy on antioxidant status vary among tissues. Differences between adrenalectomy and 6-OH treatment on antioxidant components are suggestive of differential actions of adrenaline and noradrenaline on tissue antioxidant status which may have important implications under conditions associated with elevations in levels of these catecholamines including chronic stress and myocardial infarction.