Environmental Health Perspectives 105, Supplement 5, September 1997

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Interspecies Comparison of Rat and Hamster Alveolar Macrophage Antioxidative and Oxidative Capacity

Martina Dörger, 1 Anne-Marie Allmeling, 1 Ariane Neuber, 2 Jürgen Behr, 2 Walter Rambeck, 3 and Fritz Krombach 1

1 Institute for Surgical Research, 2 Department of Internal Medicine I, Klinikum Grosshadern, 3 Institute of Animal Physiology, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Abstract
Generation of oxidants has been implicated in lung injury and disease caused by a variety of inhaled agents such as ozone, particles, and mineral fibers. Antioxidants in the pulmonary system presumably provide the initial defense against such oxidants. We designed the present study to assess the oxidative and antioxidative capacity of alveolar macrophages (AM) from rats and hamsters. These two laboratory animal species commonly used in biomedical research are well known for their disparate response to pulmonary irritants/toxicants. AM from CD rats and Syrian golden hamsters were obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage. We assessed AM antioxidant levels by measuring the catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and the intracellular concentrations of total glutathione, ascorbic acid, and alpha -tocopherol. We determined the AM oxidative capacity by assessing the ability of AM to oxidize extracellular glutathione (GSH) and to release superoxide anions. There were no significant differences in the intracellular antioxidant levels, except for catalase activity that was significantly ( p <0.05) higher in hamster AM than in rat AM. However, AM oxidative capacity was markedly different between the two species studied. The amount of spontaneous and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced GSH oxidation was about 5-fold higher in rat AM than in hamster AM, whereas the PMA-induced superoxide anion release did not differ significantly between the two rodents. In summary, our data suggest that species variation exists between the oxidative capacity of rat and that of hamster AM. Whereas the oxidative capacity of hamster AM appears to be based mainly on the formation of reactive oxygen species, it is suggested that rat AM possess an additional oxidative system. -- Environ Health Perspect 105(Suppl 5):1309-1312 (1997)

Key words : macrophages, alveolar macrophages, glutathione, superoxide anion, superoxide dismutase, catalase, rat, hamster, species differences

This paper is based on a presentation at The Sixth International Meeting on the Toxicology of Natural and Man-Made Fibrous and Non-Fibrous Particles held 15-18 September 1996 in Lake Placid, New York. Manuscript received at EHP 26 March 1997; accepted 17 May 1997.

The authors thank A. Wetzel for her expertise and excellent assistance.This work was supported in part by a grant from the European Insulation Manufacturers Association (EURIMA).

Address correspondence to Dr. F. Krombach, Institut für Chirurgische Forschung, Klinikum Grosshadern, Marchioninistr. 15, D-81366 München, Germany. Telephone: 49 89 7095 4359. Fax: 49 89 7095 8897. E-mail: krombach@icf.med.uni-muenchen.de

Abbreviations used: AM, alveolar macrophage(s); DTNB, 5,5´-dithio-bis(2-nitrobenzoic acid); EDTA, ethylendiamine tetraacetic acid; GSH, glutathione; PMA, phorbol myristate acetate; SOD, superoxide dismutase; GSH t , total glutathione.

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Last Update: November 25, 1997