Radiation Effects on Membranes: II. A Comparison of the Effects of X Irradiation and Ozone Exposure with Respect to the Relation of Antioxidant Concentration and the Capacity for Lipid Peroxidation

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Abstract
Mice were exposed to X-irradiation (30 and 60 Gy [gray]) or to a mixture of ozone and air (0.9 ppm O3 during 17 h). The capacity for lipid peroxidation was measured in cellular subfractions of the liver and this was related to the contents of antioxidant (AO) in these fractions. Immediately after a total-body dose of 60 Gy of X-rays, a small but significant decrease in total antioxidant contents could be measured. Exposure to ozone gave a more pronounced effect on the AO level. When the subfractions obtained from the animals treated under different conditions were incubated in vitro, a correlation was observed between the length of a lag (induction) period prior to rapid lipid peroxidation and the level of AO present. A great similarity exists between the oxidative attack on the membrane lipids as caused by X-irradiation and by ozone exposure. When the animals were injected i.p. with reduced glutathione (GSH) just before exposure, a relatively high level of AO was maintained, which correlated with a lengthened induction period in the in vitro test for lipid peroxidation capacity. In the decline of AO during the in vitro incubation 2 phases were observed: an initial rapid decrease of AO contents, which was followed by a relatively slow rate of AO disappearance. Water-soluble antioxidants in the cell apparently serve as a 1st line of protection of the unsaturated fatty acids in the lipids of the biomembranes against oxidative attack as caused by X-irradiation or ozone exposure.

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