Oxidative stress in toadfish (Halobactrachus didactylus) cardiac muscle -: Acute exposure to vanadate oligomers

Vanadate solutions as 'metavanadate' (containing ortho and metavanadate species) and 'decavanadate' (containing manly decameric species) (5 mM; 1 mg/kg) were injected intraperitoneously in Halobatrachus didactylus (toadfish), in order to evaluate the contribution of decameric vanadate species to vanadium (V) intoxication on the cardiac tissue. Following short-term exposure (1 and 7 days), different changes on antioxidant enzyme activities-superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT). selenium-glutathione peroxidase (Se-GPx), total glutathione peroxidase (GPx), lipid peroxidation and subcellular vanadium distribution were observed in mitochondrial and cytosolic fractions of heart ventricle toadfish. After 1 day of vanadium intoxication, SOD, CAT and Se-GPx activities were decreased up to 25%. by both vanadate solutions, except mitochondrial CAT activity that increased (+23%) upon decavanadate administration. After 7 days of exposure, decavanadate versus metavanadate solutions promoted different effects mainly on cytosolic CAT activity (-56% versus -5%), mitochondrial CAT activity (-10% versus +10%) and total GPx activity (+1% versus -35%), whereas lipid peroxidation products were significantly increased (+82%) upon 500 muM decavanadate intoxication. Accumulation of vanadium in total (0.137 +/- 0.011 mug/g) and mitochondrial (0.022 +/- 0.001 mug/g) fractions was observed upon 7 days of metavanadate exposure, whereas for decavanadate, the concentration of vanadium increased in cytosolic (0.020 +/- 0.005 mug/g) and mitochondrial (0.021 +/- 0.009 mug/g) fractions. It is concluded that decameric vanadate species are responsible for a strong increase on lipid peroxidation and a decrease in cytosolic catalase activity thus contributing to oxidative stress responses upon vanadate intoxication, in the toadfish heart. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.