The Electrical Stimulation of the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis Causes Oxidative Stress in Skeletal Muscle of Rats.

Mateusz Jakub Karnia,Magdalena Podlacha,Damian Jozef Flis,Jan Jacek Kaczor,Ziemowit Maciej Ciepielewski,Dorota Myslinska,Katarzyna Patrycja Dzik

doi:10.1155/2018/4671213

Abstract

Recent studies indicate that activation of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA) plays the crucial role in stress response, while several lines of evidence mark the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) as a major mediator of the HPA axis responses to stress. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the corticosterone flux induced by the electrical stimulation of BST on markers of free radical damage of lipids and proteins and antioxidant enzyme activity in skeletal muscle of rats. The male Wistar rats were used and assigned to one of three groups: sham-operated (SHM; n = 6), two-week (ST2; n = 6), and four-week stimulated (ST4; n = 5) groups. Blood, soleus, and extensor digitorum longus muscles were collected. The chronic, 4-week electrical stimulation of the BST evokes increased plasma corticosterone concentration, which resulted in oxidative stress in skeletal muscles. We found higher level of lipid peroxidation markers, lower level of protein oxidation marker, and elevated antioxidant enzyme activity in both muscles. Our findings have also potential implication showing that reaction to the long-term “psychological stress” may lead to free radical damage of muscle.

Highlights

It is well known that chronic stress response has extremely negative consequences for health
After 4 weeks of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) electrical stimulation, the concentration of MDA was elevated in the ST4 group as compared to both ST2 and SHM groups in the Extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle (3.5-fold, p < 0 001 and 3-fold, p < 0 001, resp.); (Figure 2(b))
We found elevated level of lipid and protein peroxidation and higher activity of antioxidant enzymes in both SOL and EDL muscles after 4 weeks of stimulation

Summary

Introduction

It is well known that chronic stress response has extremely negative consequences for health. The oxidative stress is defined as a disturbance of prooxidant-antioxidant balance in the direction of oxidation reaction. This stress is a series of biochemical reactions that result in free radical cell damage or its compartments by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). Mitochondria and cytoplasm are the main sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in the skeletal muscle [3]. It has been shown that both sources of ROS generation are involved in aging process and dysfunction in several metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases, which may be partially connected with elevated GC level [9].

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