Changes of superoxide dismutase, glutathione perioxidase and lipid peroxides in the brain of mice preconditioned by hypoxia.

We have developed an animal model of hypoxic preconditioning and assumed that oxygen radicals and their endogenous scavenging enzymes may play an important role in the preconditioning. To test this hypothesis, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and the content of lipid peroxides (LPO) were measured during the preconditioning. Compared with unpreconditioned control animals, in animals exposed to hypoxia only once, the activities of SOD and GSH-Px in whole brain were found to be significantly decreased while the LPO content in the hippocampus significantly increased. However, those in animals exposed to 4 runs of hypoxia tended to return to control levels and were lower than those in animals exposed to 1 and 2 runs of hypoxia. Our results indicate that the oxygen radicals and their specific scavenging enzymes seem to be involved in the development of tolerance to hypoxia.