Effect of Whole Body Cold Stress on Glutathione Metabolism in Young and Old Mice.

Abstract

Cold stress is known to have several physical consequences in humans, and the response to cold stress may be altered with aging, reflecting impairment of stress adaptation in the aged. However, cold stress-induced alteration in systemic antioxidant capacity has not been fully elucidated in senescent animal models including the senescence-accelerated mouse (SAM). In this study, we examined the effects of whole body cold stress, by immersion in cold water, on the content of both glutathione (GSH) and oxidized GSH (GSSG) in two strains of mice, SAMR1/Gtk (senescence-resistant strain) and SAMP2/Gtk (senescence-prone strain), of 6 (young) and 16 (aged) months of age. In liver and blood, the reduction in GSH, and the increase in GSSG content was considerable in aged SAMP2/Gtk. A similar perturbation of GSH metabolism was found in aged SAMR1/Gtk, but not in young SAMR1/Gtk after cold exposure. The altered metabolism of GSH caused by cold exposure was even found in the young SAMP2/Gtk mice. These results indicate the acute cold stress causes a significant decrease in the GSH level and perturbs GSH metabolism in several visceral organs and that the effect of cold stress on GSH metabolism may be further modulated by senescence.