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Individual consistency and covariation of measures of oxidative status in greenfinches

Sepp, T. ; Sild, Elin LU ; Blount, J. D. ; Männiste, M. ; Karu, U. and Hõrak, P. (2012) In Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 85(3). p.299-307
Abstract
Oxidative stress results from a mismatch between production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the organism's capacity to mitigate their damaging effects by building up sufficient antioxidant protection and/or repair mechanisms. Because ROS production is a universal consequence of cellular metabolism and immune responses, evolutionary animal ecologists have become increasingly interested in involvement of oxidative stress as a proximate mechanism responsible for the emergence of trade-offs related to the evolution of life-history and signal traits. Among the most practical problems pertinent to ecological research on oxidative stress is finding a combination of biomarkers of oxidative status that can be applied to typical wild animal... (More)
Oxidative stress results from a mismatch between production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the organism's capacity to mitigate their damaging effects by building up sufficient antioxidant protection and/or repair mechanisms. Because ROS production is a universal consequence of cellular metabolism and immune responses, evolutionary animal ecologists have become increasingly interested in involvement of oxidative stress as a proximate mechanism responsible for the emergence of trade-offs related to the evolution of life-history and signal traits. Among the most practical problems pertinent to ecological research on oxidative stress is finding a combination of biomarkers of oxidative status that can be applied to typical wild animal models such as small birds, mammals, and reptiles. This study describes covariation and individual consistency of eight parameters of oxidative status in a small passerine bird, wild-caught captive greenfinch (Carduelis chloris).Wemeasured two markers of plasma antioxidant potential-total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and oxygen radical absorbance (OXY)-and concentrations of one lipophilic (carotenoids) and two hydrophilic (uric acid and ascorbate) antioxidants in plasma.We also measured total glutathione (GSH) concentration and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in erythrocytes. Oxidative damage was assessed on the basis of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Plasma carotenoids, TAC, and erythrocyte GSH showed significant individual consistency over an 8-d period, indicating that those variables reflected more persistent differences between individuals than plasma OXY, MDA, and uric acid. We did not detect any strong or moderate correlations between the studied parameters, which suggests that all of these biomarkers contain potentially unique information. Injection of a synthetic mimetic of SOD and catalase-EUK-134-did not affect any of the parameters of oxidative status. Capability of phagocytes to produce oxidative burst was not associated with MDA, indicating that under our experimental conditions, ROS production by phagocytes was not a strong determinant of oxidative damage. Altogether these findings suggest that attempts to characterize oxidative balance should use a wide range of biomarkers, and further studies of oxidative status in wild animals may benefit from the experimental induction of oxidative stress. © 2012 by The University of Chicago. (Less)
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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
oxidative, oxidative statu, covariation, mda, antioxidant, tac, carotenoid, gsh, oxidative stress, consistency, plasma, statu, sod, stress, biomarker
in
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
volume
85
issue
3
pages
299 - 307
publisher
University of Chicago Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:84859747220
  • pmid:22494985
ISSN
1522-2152
DOI
10.1086/664827
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
3
id
bb4923ab-3806-4a5f-8d58-fc6f98eb8649 (old id 3359225)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:03:26
date last changed
2022-01-26 05:05:05
@article{bb4923ab-3806-4a5f-8d58-fc6f98eb8649,
  abstract     = {{Oxidative stress results from a mismatch between production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the organism's capacity to mitigate their damaging effects by building up sufficient antioxidant protection and/or repair mechanisms. Because ROS production is a universal consequence of cellular metabolism and immune responses, evolutionary animal ecologists have become increasingly interested in involvement of oxidative stress as a proximate mechanism responsible for the emergence of trade-offs related to the evolution of life-history and signal traits. Among the most practical problems pertinent to ecological research on oxidative stress is finding a combination of biomarkers of oxidative status that can be applied to typical wild animal models such as small birds, mammals, and reptiles. This study describes covariation and individual consistency of eight parameters of oxidative status in a small passerine bird, wild-caught captive greenfinch (Carduelis chloris).Wemeasured two markers of plasma antioxidant potential-total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and oxygen radical absorbance (OXY)-and concentrations of one lipophilic (carotenoids) and two hydrophilic (uric acid and ascorbate) antioxidants in plasma.We also measured total glutathione (GSH) concentration and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in erythrocytes. Oxidative damage was assessed on the basis of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Plasma carotenoids, TAC, and erythrocyte GSH showed significant individual consistency over an 8-d period, indicating that those variables reflected more persistent differences between individuals than plasma OXY, MDA, and uric acid. We did not detect any strong or moderate correlations between the studied parameters, which suggests that all of these biomarkers contain potentially unique information. Injection of a synthetic mimetic of SOD and catalase-EUK-134-did not affect any of the parameters of oxidative status. Capability of phagocytes to produce oxidative burst was not associated with MDA, indicating that under our experimental conditions, ROS production by phagocytes was not a strong determinant of oxidative damage. Altogether these findings suggest that attempts to characterize oxidative balance should use a wide range of biomarkers, and further studies of oxidative status in wild animals may benefit from the experimental induction of oxidative stress. © 2012 by The University of Chicago.}},
  author       = {{Sepp, T. and Sild, Elin and Blount, J. D. and Männiste, M. and Karu, U. and Hõrak, P.}},
  issn         = {{1522-2152}},
  keywords     = {{oxidative; oxidative statu; covariation; mda; antioxidant; tac; carotenoid; gsh; oxidative stress; consistency; plasma; statu; sod; stress; biomarker}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{299--307}},
  publisher    = {{University of Chicago Press}},
  series       = {{Physiological and Biochemical Zoology}},
  title        = {{Individual consistency and covariation of measures of oxidative status in greenfinches}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/664827}},
  doi          = {{10.1086/664827}},
  volume       = {{85}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}