Buscador de Personas - SIGEVA - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

In previous experiments, we have demonstrated that low-level Pb-exposure induced an increase in voluntary ethanol (ET) intake compared to their control counterparts. Taking into consideration the dual role of the enzyme catalase (CAT) as both, an antioxidant and a key component of brain ethanol oxidation, in the present study, we aimed to assess the effects of CAT activation on ET intake in a two-bottle free-choice paradigm. We postulate that concomitant exposure to Pb and ET would stimulate CAT activity leading to the higher ET intake observed in developmentally Pb-exposed animals, and that a pretreatment with a CAT activator, 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA), would further increase the voluntary ET intake. Thirty-five day-old animals exposed to 220 ppm Pb during gestation and lactation were evaluated in their voluntary ET intake during 2 h for 28 days according to the following scheme: days 1-4: ET 2%; days 5-8: ET 4%; days 9-12: ET 6%; days 13-16: ET 8%; days 17-20: ET 10%. After stable 10% ET consumption was achieved, all rats were injected with vehicle (saline) or 3-NPA (10, 20, or 30 mg/kg s.c.) 90 min before the corresponding ET free-choice session (days 25-28). Immediately after the last session, all rats were sacrificed and several brain regions harvested to measure brain CAT activity. Blood was also collected to measure CAT activity, Pb, and ET levels. A 35-day-old and a 70-day-old group that have not consumed ethanol were included. We demonstrated that pretreatment with 3NPA (20 mg/kg) further increased the higher voluntary ET intake previously evidenced in Pb-exposed rats, although this effect was not accompanied by increases in CAT activity. These results point out the potential critical role of this enzyme in the motivational properties of ET evidenced in developmentally Pb-exposed rats.

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