Free radical-generated neurotoxicity of 6-hydroxydopamine.

Albino rats were lesioned bilaterally with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) hydrochloride (4 micrograms/microliters, dissolved in saline with 0.1% ascorbic acid) into the striatum, and 72 h after the injection, levels of lipid peroxidation, GSH, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), lipid class, membrane fluidity, and intracellular calcium concentrations were studied and the results were compared with those in the sham-operated controls. The malonaldialdehyde level and the level of conjugated dienes were increased by 43 and 40%, respectively, in corpus striatum, and GSH, SOD, and GSH-Px levels were decreased (24-30%) following 6-OHDA treatment. Total phospholipid content was also decreased (18%), whereas cholesterol content remained unaffected. Among the different phospholipids only phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol were decreased in level. Membrane fluidity was decreased (23%), whereas the intracellular calcium concentration was elevated (100%) in corpus striatum compared with control rats. The results suggest that these alterations in membrane-related events by 6-OHDA could be due to free radical generation.