Antioxidants reverse the changes in energy metabolism of rat brain after chronic administration of L.-tyrosine

Tyrosinemia type II is a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by deficiency of hepatic tyrosine aminotransferase and is associated with neurologic and development difficulties in numerous patients. Considering that the mechanisms underlying the neurological dysfunction in hypertyrosinemic patients are poorly known and that high concentrations of tyrosine provoke mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, in the present study we investigated the in vivo influence of antioxidants (N-acetylcysteine, NAC; and deferoxamine, DFX) administration on the inhibitory effects on parameters of energy metabolism in cerebral cortex, hippocampus and striatum of rats, provoked by chronic administration of L.-tyrosine. Our results showed that chronic administration of L.-tyrosine results in a marked decrease in the activity of citrate synthase in all the analyzed structures and succinate dehydrogenase activities in hippocampus and striatum, and that antioxidants administration can prevent this inhibition in hippocampus and striatum. Moreover, chronic administration of L.-tyrosine inhibited the activity of complex I, II-III and IV in the striatum, which can be prevented by antioxidant treatment. However, the co-administration of NAC plus DFX could not prevent the inhibition of creatine kinase activity in the striatum. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that the administration of antioxidants NAC and DFX attenuates the L.-tyrosine effects on enzymes of the Krebs cycle and the mitochondrial respiratory chain, suggesting that impairment of energy metabolism can be involved with oxidative stress. These results also indicate a possible neuroprotective role for NAC and DFX as a potential adjuvant therapy to the patients with Tyrosinemia type II.