ubiquinone and Ischemic-Attack--Transient

The role of oxygen free radical generation during reversible focal cerebral ischemia and its relationship to nitric oxide mediated mechanisms were examined. In this study, a left frontal cortex microdialysis probe was placed into the previously defined ischemic penumbra region and perfused with a salicylate/CSF solution in the presence or absence of the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor L-NAME. Rats were then subjected to transient left hemisphere focal cerebral ischemia. Dialysate was collected at baseline and during the ischemic/reperfusion phase, and the hydroxylation products of salicylate were measured by HPLC with electrochemical detection. A significant elevation of free radical adduct formation was observed in the penumbra region during ischemia/reperfusion. This elevation was significantly attenuated by L-NAME during the reperfusion phase. Elevation of free radical adduct formation within the penumbra region during cerebral ischemia/reperfusion may be mediated in part by NOS-dependent mechanisms.

Topics: Animals; Enzyme Inhibitors; Free Radicals; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Neocortex; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester; Nitric Oxide; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Reperfusion Injury; Ubiquinone

Treatment with oral coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10, 10 mg/kg per day for 6 days) was compared with no treatment in a previously described rabbit model of symptomatic cerebral vasospasm [Endo et al. (1988) Stroke 19: 1420-1425]. The treatment was initiated within 1-2 h after injection of autologous blood into the subarachnoid space. In CoQ10-untreated rabbits, moderate to severe neurological deficits developed, and multiple focal ischemic lesions were found in the brain regions with compromised blood supply, i.e., in the regions normally supplied by common carotid arteries which are subject to ligation in this model. CoQ10 treatment prevented the development of both the neurological deficits and histologically detectable brain tissue damage. In both CoQ10-treated and -untreated rabbits, infiltration of mononuclear cells was evident in the brain stem, although this region did not show signs of ischemic damage. The findings indicate that the histological and neurological correlates of brain tissue damage in this rabbit model of symptomatic cerebral vasospasm develop via mechanism(s) involving free radical-mediated oxidation of plasma lipoproteins. Similar mechanisms may play a role in the development of brain damage attributed to cerebral atherosclerosis.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Antioxidants; Brain; Coenzymes; Female; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Lipid Peroxidation; Lipoproteins, LDL; Male; Rabbits; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage; Ubiquinone

To verify the lipid peroxidation in the focal cerebral ischemia, the levels of alpha-tocopherol, ubiquinone and ascorbate were measured in the ischemic center in rats. The former two were endogeneous lipid soluble antioxidants and the last was a water soluble antioxidant. alpha-Tocopherol, reduced ubiquinone-9 and -10, and reduced ascorbate decreased to 79%, 73%, 66%, and 76% 0.5 hour after ischemia, respectively. alpha-Tocopherol decreased to 63% 6 hours after ischemia, and then reached a plateau, while reduced ubiquinones and reduced ascorbate declined further to 16% and 10% 12 hours after ischemia, respectively, and then reached plateau levels. These results suggest their functional and durational differences as antioxidants against lipid peroxidation in this ischemic model. Although the reciprocal increase in oxidized ubiquinones during ischemia was not observed, that in oxidized ascorbate was noted. The complementary antioxidant system between cytoplasmic and membranous components, the combination alpha-tocopherol/ascorbate, was estimated from the calculated consumption ratio of these antioxidants, assuming that the loss of these reduced antioxidants is due to neutralization of free radicals. This system was suggested to play an important role in an early ischemic period. Urate also markedly increased during ischemia. Therefore, xanthine oxidase activity was measured in rats both in normal brain and in ischemic brain induced by four-vessel occlusion method. In the control rat, the enzyme activity was 0.87 +/- 0.13 nmol/g wet brain/min at 25 degrees C (mean +/- S.D.): 92.4% was associated with the NAD-dependent dehydrogenase form and only 7.6% with the oxygen-dependent superoxide-producing oxidase form. However, the ratio of the latter form increased to 43.7% after 0.5 hour of global ischemia despite the same level in total xanthine oxidase activity. This result suggests the involvement of the oxygen free radicals generated from the xanthine oxidase pathway in the pathogenesis of the ischemic injury of the rat brain.

Topics: Animals; Ascorbic Acid; Brain; Brain Ischemia; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Lipid Peroxidation; Male; Oxidation-Reduction; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Ubiquinone; Vitamin E; Xanthine Oxidase

Post-ischemic changes in energy metabolites and natural antioxidant compounds have been measured in rat brain in vitro concurrent with two different assays for peroxidized lipids. No exogenous free radical initiators were employed. In vitro oxygenation of minced brain preparations for periods of 10 minutes to 4 hours, following 5 minutes of preparatory ischemia, yielded increased levels of lipid conjugated dienes and TBA-reactive material, in contrast to anaerobically incubated preparations. However, either aerobic or anaerobic incubation of brain minces facilitated increased ratios of lactate:pyruvate and glutathione (oxidized):glutathione (reduced), as well as increased total ubiquinone content and loss of alpha-tocopherol. Observation of lipid radical formation in vivo was then attempted using rats given embolic stroke in one hemisphere and left in the post-ischemic condition for times up to 24 hours. Conjugated dienes were found in lipids extracted from the ipsilateral hemisphere but not from the contralateral hemisphere. These observations of conjugated dienes in vivo (formed presumably during post-ischemic reperfusion) and in vitro (facilitated by oxygenation of brain minces), indicate that lipid radical intermediates and associated chain peroxidation processes are potentiated by ischemia and occur during tissue reoxygenation.

Topics: Aerobiosis; Anaerobiosis; Animals; Brain; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Kinetics; Lipid Peroxides; Male; Malondialdehyde; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Ubiquinone

Topics: Animals; Brain; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Energy Metabolism; Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Male; Oxidation-Reduction; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Ubiquinone; Vitamin E