Disturbances of the Lung Glutathione System in Adult Guinea Pigs Following Neonatal Vitamin C or Cysteine Deficiency

• Published in: Antioxidants 2023-06, Vol.12 (7), p.1361
• Main Authors: Teixeira, Vitor, Mohamed, Ibrahim, Lavoie, Jean-Claude
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Ascorbic acid; bronchopulmonary dysplasia; Capillary electrophoresis; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Cysteine; developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD); Diet; Diseases; Dysplasia; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Evaluation; Glutaredoxin; Glutathione; glutathionylation; Infants (Newborn); Infants (Premature); Laboratories; Lung diseases; Lungs; Membranes; Metabolism; Methionine; Monoclonal antibodies; mRNA; Neonates; Nutrition research; Oxidative stress; Parenteral nutrition; Premature birth; Proteins; RNA; Thiols; thrifty phenotype hypothesis; Vitamin C; Vitamin deficiency
• ISSN: 2076-3921; 2076-3921
• DOI: 10.3390/antiox12071361

In premature infants receiving parenteral nutrition, oxidative stress is a trigger for the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, which is an important factor in the development of adult lung diseases. Neonatal vitamin C and glutathione deficiency is suspected to induce permanent modification of redox metabolism favoring the development of neonatal and adult lung diseases. A total of 64 3-day-old guinea pigs were fed an oral diet that was either complete or deficient in vitamin C (VCD), cysteine (CD) (glutathione-limiting substrate) or both (DD) for 4 days. At 1 week of age, half of the animals were sacrificed while the other started a complete diet until 12 weeks of age. At 1 week, the decrease in lung GSH in all deficient groups was partially explained by the oxidation of liver methionine-adenosyltransferase. mRNA levels of kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 ( ), glutathione-reductase ( ) and glutaredoxin-1 ( ) were significantly lower only in CD but not in DD. At 12 weeks, glutathione levels were increased in VCD and CD. , and mRNA were increased, while glutathione-reductase and glutaredoxin proteins were lower in CD, favoring a higher glutathionylation status. Both neonatal deficiencies result in a long-term change in glutathione metabolism that could contribute to lung diseases' development.