Cardiac and renal nitrosative-oxidative stress after acute poisoning by a nerve agent Tabun

Abstract

We hypothesized that Tabun poisoning, as well as other organophosphorous treatment, cause specific organs’ oxidative changes that have not previously been substantiated investigated. In this regard, a marker for nitrosative-oxidative stress in the main haemodynamic organs (heart and kidney) could reveal the existence of such changes. In this study, for the first time we studied the nitrosative/oxidative stress in heart and kidney after acute Tabun (Ethyl N,N- Dimethylphosphoramidocyanidate) poisoning measuring by immunohistochemistry the expression of 3-nitrotyrosine—a marker for nitrosative-oxidative stress. We investigated nitrotyrozine expression in three different groups of animals (with at least 3 animals in each group): the first group was treated with 0.5 LD50 Tabun and organs were collected after 24 h; the second group received vehicle for the same period; in the third group a highly specific re-activator was applied immediately after Tabun application. Heart and kidney were collected after 24 h. The levels of nitrotyrozine production significantly increased (more than 3 times) in cardiomyocytes after Tabun. The application of re-activator slightly reduced these levels not reaching the basal heart levels. Nitrotyrozine expression in kidney increased more than 2 times after Tabun and application of re-activator did not change it significantly. In conclusion, our study evidently demonstrated that Tabun trigger oxidative-nitrosative stress in heart and kidney and these cellular effects should be protected by an additional anti-oxidant therapy, since acetylcholinesterase re-activator is not efficient in this manner.

Keywords:

• Organophosphorous poisoning
• 3-nitrotyrozine
• nitrosative-oxidative stress
• cardiac and renal damage

Funding

This work was supported by Counsel of Medical Sciences, Medical University Sofia, Contract No. 40/2014.