NADPH oxidase and superoxide-producing associates in cells of the spinal cord in diabetic rats with spinal cord injury

In a rat model of fructose-induced diabetes, a method for isolating and purifying the total fraction of NOX1 and NOX2 isoforms and the total fraction of O2 – producing stable associates of NOX and NADPH isoforms-containing lipoprotein (NCL associate) from cell membranes and intracellular formations was developed for the first time. The characteristics of changes in the optic spectra related to the level of NOX and associates were examined. In rat experiments, an important source of O2 – radicals under conditions of oxidative stress, namely NOX and its associates, was identified. The amounts of NOX and its associates, as well as the activity of these biochemical systems, were found to be significantly higher in fructose-induced type 2 diabetic rats than in control rats. In turn, the indices in diabetic rats with partial transection of spinal cord are significantly higher than those in diabetic rats with no spinal cord trauma. Such findings confirm the hypothesis that oxidative stress is an important pathogenetic factor in both diabetes and spinal cord injury. Keywords: NOX, diabetes, spinal cord injury.