Effects of low doses of Li carbonate injected into mice. Functional changes in kidney seem to be related to the oxidative status

Effects of daily injections of lithium carbonate (20, 40 or 80 mg/kg body weight) during 14 and 28 days were investigated in Wistar mice. Attention was paid (1) to changes in concentrations of lithium, creatinine and urea in serum, (2) to level of oxidative stress by measuring lipids peroxidation level and catalase, superoxide-dismutase and glutathione-peroxidase activities, and (3) to changes in the histological structure of brain. The first intraperitoneal injection was followed by a transitory peak of lithium in the blood, reaching 0.25 mM and 1.1 mM and disappearing 6 and 12 h later for the 20 and 80 mg/kg doses, respectively. From the first to the last day of treatment, lithium concentrations in the blood, measured 12 h after the injections, increased from 0 to 0.11 mM (20 mg/kg dose) or 0.25 mM (80 mg/kg dose). The 80 mg/kg treatment induced a renal insufficiency evidenced by an increase of blood creatinine and urea levels. Lithium treatment was found to trigger an oxidative stress in kidney, but not in brain. In kidney, the lipid peroxidation level (TBARS) and the superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were increased. No change in glutathione peroxidase activity was detected. Histology of the brain cortex revealed interesting modifications: thicker neuronal cells and a denser network of dendrites, as compared to controls.