Antioxidant enzyme status and lipid peroxidation in various tissues of diabetic and starved rats.

The effect of short term (2-wk) diabetes induced by streptozotocin and starvation (1-wk) on antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation in the liver, kidney and heart of rats was investigated. The activity of mitochondrial oxidative markers was increased in diabetic liver and kidney, while the activity in tissues of starved rats tended to be decreased. Immunoreactive manganese superoxide dismutase was increased only in diabetic liver and was unchanged or decreased in the rest of the tissues. Glutathione peroxidase activity was increased in tissues of diabetic but not starved rats. The changes in copper-zinc superoxide dismutase and catalase in diabetic rats were similar to those in starved rats. In both groups, copper-zinc superoxide dismutase was decreased in liver, while catalase activity was decreased in liver and kidney, and increased in heart. The lipid peroxide level was increased in diabetic kidney and in the heart of starved rats, and decreased in the rest of the tissues. Insulin treatment in diabetic rats and refeeding in starved rats restored most of the abnormalities toward normal. These results suggest that accelerated mitochondrial oxidative metabolism not accompanied by induction of manganes superoxide dismutase results in oxidative injury in the hypertrophied kidney at an early stage of diabetes and possibly contributes to the development of nephropathy. Peroxidative myocardial damage in starved rat appears to be mediated by a catabolic process.