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The study demonstrated that corticosteroids play an essential role in the regulation of antioxidant enzyme defense in stress conditions and that the reliability of their regulation decreases with age.

Activity of glutathione-dependent antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione transferase) in blood erythrocytes from female Macaca mulatta (6-8 and 20-26 years) was measured during activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system under conditions of acute psychoemotional stress (2-h restraint stress). Glutathione reductase activity increased during stress, depended on the time of day, and strongly correlated with blood corticosteroid level. Circadian variations in stress reactivity of glutathione reductase during aging were accompanied by similar changes in stress reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system.

No abstract