20‐hydroxyecdysone prevents oxidative stress damage in adultPyrrhocoris apterus

Citations Over Time

Abstract

Injections of 38 pmol paraquat (1,1'-dimethyl-4,4'-bypyridilium) into adult Pyrrhocoris apterus (average body weight 29.6 mg in males and 36.9 mg in females) caused a significant elevation of lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation and a decline of membrane fluidity in the microsomal brain fraction. Another manifestation of oxidative stress was a depletion of the reduced glutathione pool and reduction of the gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity in the brain extracts. The damaging action of paraquat on the brain was counteracted by simultaneous injection of 1 pmol 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). 20E restrained lipid peroxidation and the formation of protein carbonyls, ameliorated changes in microsomal membrane fluidity, enhanced the level of reduced glutathione, and upregulated the activity of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. At the organismic level, 20E curtailed three detrimental effects caused by paraquat injection: the disappearance of a blood protein, the suppression of fecundity and egg hatchability, and the shortening of adult life span. The data showed that 20E provided a systemic antioxidant protection but the significance of endogenous ecdysteroids in the management of oxidative stress remains to be shown.

Related Papers

• → Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Acute Paraquat Poisoning(1989)22 cited
• → Free-radical stress response in paraquat-sensitive and resistant tobacco plants(1984)16 cited
• → Effect of ethanol on the disposition of paraquat(1991)7 cited
• → Characterization of Paraquat Resistance inSolanum americanumMill. I. Paraquat Uptake, Translocation, and Compartmentalization(1998)5 cited
• → Effect of cations and some compounds on paraquat accumulation into cultured pneumocytes.(1986)1 cited