Vitamin C deficiency in weanling guinea pigs: differential expression of oxidative stress and DNA repair in liver and brain

Lykkesfeldt, Jens; Trueba, Gilberto Perez; Poulsen, Henrik E; Christen, Stephan (2007). Vitamin C deficiency in weanling guinea pigs: differential expression of oxidative stress and DNA repair in liver and brain. British journal of nutrition, 98(6), pp. 1116-9. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 10.1017/S0007114507787457

Preview

Text S0007114507787457.pdf - Published Version Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (97kB) | Preview

Neonates are particularly susceptible to malnutrition due to their limited reserves of micronutrients and their rapid growth. In the present study, we examined the effect of vitamin C deficiency on markers of oxidative stress in plasma, liver and brain of weanling guinea pigs. Vitamin C deficiency caused rapid and significant depletion of ascorbate (P < 0.001), tocopherols (P < 0.001) and glutathione (P < 0.001), and a decrease in superoxide dismutase activity (P = 0.005) in the liver, while protein oxidation was significantly increased (P = 0.011). No changes in lipid oxidation or oxidatively damaged DNA were observed in this tissue. In the brain, the pattern was markedly different. Of the measured antioxidants, only ascorbate was significantly depleted (P < 0.001), but in contrast to the liver, ascorbate oxidation (P = 0.034), lipid oxidation (P < 0.001), DNA oxidation (P = 0.13) and DNA incision repair (P = 0.014) were all increased, while protein oxidation decreased (P = 0.003). The results show that the selective preservation of brain ascorbate and induction of DNA repair in vitamin C-deficient weanling guinea pigs is not sufficient to prevent oxidative damage. Vitamin C deficiency may therefore be particularly adverse during the neonatal period.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

238 since deposited on 04 Oct 2013
36 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item