RETRACTED: Effect of 7-nitroindazole on superoxide production and MnSOD activity in the rat brain following kainate-induced neurotoxicity (Retracted article. See vol. 67, pg. 749, 2015)

We investigated the effect of 7-nitroindazole (7-NI), a selective neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor in vivo, on superoxide concentration as well its influence on mitochondrial MnSOD activity since this activity is associated with the production of reactive oxygen species after kainate-induced neurotoxicity. The time course of in vivo oxidative damage in different brain regions was investigated. Measurements were performed at different times (5 min, 15 min, 2 h, 48 h, and 7 days) in the ipsi- and contralateral hippocampus, forebrain cortex, striatum, and cerebellum homogenates. Our results indicated that 7-NI had no statistically significant influence on superoxide concentrations in the tested brain structures compared to the control values. However, superoxide concentrations after kainate-induced neurotoxicity returned to the control values after pretreatment with 7-NI in all tested brain structures. Regarding the activity of MnSOD, our results demonstrated statistically significant increase 7 days after intrahippocampal KA treatment in all tested brain structures after pretreatment with 7-NI. The obtained results suggest that neuronal NO synthase inhibitors may be useful in the treatment of neurological diseases in which excitotoxic mechanisms play a role.