Regulation of antioxidant enzyme activities in male and female rat macrophages by sex steroids
Braz. j. med. biol. res
; 34(5): 683-687, May 2001. tab
Article
en En
| LILACS
| ID: lil-285867
Biblioteca responsable:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
Human and animal immune functions present sex dimorphism that seems to be mainly regulated by sex hormones. In the present study, the activities of the antioxidant enzymes total superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were measured in intraperitoneal resident macrophages from adult male and female rats. In addition to comparing males and females, we also examined the regulation of these enzyme activities in macrophages by sex steroids. GSH-Px activity did not differ between male and female macrophages. However, both total SOD and CAT activities were markedly higher in females than in males (83 and 180 percent). Removal of the gonads in both males and females (comparison between castrated groups) increased the difference in SOD activity from 83 to 138 percent and reduced the difference in CAT activity from 180 to 86 percent. Castration and testosterone administration did not significantly modify the activities of the antioxidant enzymes in male macrophages. Ovariectomy did not affect SOD or GSH-Px activity but markedly reduced (48 percent) CAT activity. This latter change was fully reversed by estrogen administration, whereas progesterone had a smaller effect. These results led us to conclude that differences in the SOD and CAT activities may partially explain some of the differences in immune function reported for males and females. Also, estrogen is a potent regulator of CAT in macrophages and therefore this enzyme activity in macrophages may vary considerably during the menstrual cycle
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
LILACS
Asunto principal:
Oxidorreductasas
/
Hormonas Esteroides Gonadales
/
Peroxidación de Lípido
/
Macrófagos Peritoneales
/
Antioxidantes
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Braz. j. med. biol. res
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
/
MEDICINA
Año:
2001
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Brasil
Pais de publicación:
Brasil