Decreases in protective enzymes correlates with increased oxidative damage in the aging mouse brain.

We used several biochemical assays to evaluate age-related changes in antioxidant enzyme levels vs. free-radical damage in the murine brain. We found levels of several free-radical scavenging enzymes in the brains of 24-month-old C57B1 male mice vs. 12-month-old animals were decreased, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione reductase (GSSG-Rd). In addition, we found concomitant increases in the levels of several forms of free-radical damage including sensitivity to lipid peroxidation as measured by the thiobarbituric acid test, protein oxidation as measured by glutamine synthetase (Gln Syn) activity, as well as increases in oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels, a measure of oxidative stress. These data suggest that decreases in levels of enzymes which ordinarily protect neuronal cells against oxidative stress with age may be responsible for increased levels of free-radical damage in the murine brain, or that these enzymes themselves are susceptible to inactivation by free radical molecules which increase with age in the brain.