Effects of diet composition on liver antioxidant defense and detoxification enzymes in mice with murine AIDS

Liver antioxidant defense and detoxification enzymes in murine AIDS-infected mice fed cereal based-diet or purified diet were studied with 32 C57BL/6 female mice in a 2×2×2 (diet × virus × period) treatment design. The mice were divided into two groups and fed Purina mice chow or a liquid diet. One week later, half of the mice in each diet group were injected intraperitoneally with LPBM5 murine retrovirus (MAIDS) stock. Two and 4 weeks after infection, half of the mice in each of the 4 treatment groups were killed, and the livers were excised for biochemical analysis. The results showed that MAIDS virus infection significantly decreased activities of glutathione peroxidase (GP) at 2 weeks postinfection in the liquid diet group, superoxide dismutase (SOD) at both periods in the liquid diet group, and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) toward 1,2-dichloro-4-nitrobenzene (DCNB) at both periods in both diet groups when compared to the control groups. MAIDS virus infection did not affect reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, or activities of catalase and glutathione reductase (GR). GSH levels and activities of catalase and GSTs were significantly lower in the mice fed the liquid diet than in those fed mice chow. Virus-mediated decline in antioxidant defense and detoxification capability of MAIDS infected mice may contribute to further development of the disease. The results suggest that chow diet provides a higher antioxidant defense capability than the liquid diet.