Free radical biology & medicine
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Free Radic. Biol. Med. · May 2018
Reduction of nitrosative stress by methane: Neuroprotection through xanthine oxidoreductase inhibition in a rat model of mesenteric ischemia-reperfusion.
Our aim was to characterize the main components of the nitrosative response with quantitative changes of the nitrergic myenteric neurons in adjacent intestinal segments after transient superior mesenteric artery occlusion. We also tested the hypothesis that exogenous methane may modulate the evolution of nitroxidation by influencing xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) activity. The microcirculatory consequences of a 50 min ischemia or ischemia-reperfusion were investigated in anesthetized rats (n = 124) inhaling normoxic air with or without 2.2% methane. ⋯ The inhibitory effect of methane on XOR-linked nitrate reductase activity was also demonstrated in vitro. With segment-specific microcirculatory alterations, the risk for nitrosative stress is highest in transiently hypoxic tissues with high endogenous XOR activities. The XOR-inhibitory effect of methane can reduce nitroxidation and protects the nitrergic neuron population in such conditions.