Antioxidant enzymatic defense in brains of mice undergoing a long-term moderate treadmill running.

<p>Specific activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) (panel a), catalase (CAT) (panel b) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) (panel c) in brain cortices of adult CD1 female mice undergoing a two- or four-month moderate and regular treadmill-based exercise program (E2 or E4, respectively); age-matched sedentary animals (S2, S4) were used as controls (n = 6 per group). No major age-dependent variation of tSOD and CAT specific activities was revealed; however, a significant increase in GPX activity was detected when comparing S4 and S2. Two-month physical activity reduced specific activities of tSOD, CAT and GPX catalytic capacities (E2 vs S2), whereas four-month exercise triggered a significant elevation of tSOD and CAT (E4 vs S4). Values were given as means ± std. dev. The level of statistical significance was computed by using two-way ANOVA and post-hoc Newman-Keuls test: * P<0.05; ** P<0.01; *** P<0.001. Experiments were performed in triplicate.