The effects of hypothyroidism on lipid peroxidation (LP), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and nitric oxide synthase (NOS), levels and expression, in rat brain were examined. Hypothyroidism was induced by administering methimazole in drinking water (60 mg/kg/day). In striatum, motor cortex and cerebellum of hypothyroid rats LP was not modified, whereas LP and ROS increased in amygdala and hippocampus of hypothyroid rats at the third week of treatment with methimazole as compared to euthyroid group values. Regarding NOS participation, only hippocampal constitutive-NOS activity was increased, accompanied by an augmentation in nNOS expression. Results show that hypothyroidism induces selective oxidative stress in both the hippocampus and amygdala, where the nitrergic system is involved.

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Our objective was to study if the phycobiliproteins of the cyanobacterium Pseudanabanea tenuis rich in phycoerythrin protect renal cells against mercury-caused oxidative stress and cellular damage in the kidney. We used 40 male mice that were assigned into five groups: a control group that received phosphate buffer (PB) and saline and four treatment groups which received either PB+HgCl 2 , PB+phycobiliproteins, or HgCl 2 +phycobiliproteins. The kidneys of the mice were used to determine lipid peroxidation and quantification of reactive oxygen species, oxidized glutathione, and peroxidase activities (catalase and glutathione peroxidase) and were also examined histologically. Our results demonstrated that HgCl 2 causes oxidative stress and cellular damage and that all doses of phycobiliproteins prevented the increase of oxidative markers and partially protected against HgCl 2 -caused cell damage. This is the first report which applied phycobiliproteins of P. tenuis rich in cphycoerythrin, like antioxidants against mercury chloridecaused oxidative stress and renal damage.

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