Abstract
We have reported that radon inhalation activates antioxidative functions in some organs of mouse. We previously reported that prior radon inhalation inhibits oxidative damage such as carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatopathy. However, there is no comparative study on effect of prior or post radon inhalation on oxidative damages. We examined the effects of prior and post radon inhalation on CCl4-induced oxidative damage in brain, heart, lung, liver, and kidney of mouse. BALB/c mice (7 weeks old age) inhaled radon of 18,000 Bq/m3 for 6 hours before or after CCl4 administration. In result, the relative increases in lipid peroxide (LPO) levels in lung, liver, and kidney of mouse treated with prior or post radon were significantly smaller than those of mice treated with sham. In addition, there were no significant differences in the LPO levels of lung, liver, and kidney between prior and post radon inhaled mouse. The relative decreases in total glutathione (t-GSH) content in liver of mice treated with prior radon were significantly smaller than those of mice treated with post radon. The relative decreases in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in Brain of mice treated with post radon were significantly smaller than those of mice treated with prior radon. These results suggested that prior or post radon inhalation activate antioxidative functions and inhibit CCl4 induced oxidative damage, the degree differ according to organs and its susceptibility to oxidation.
