6-Nitronorepinephrine (nitroNE) and 6-nitroepinephrine (nitroE) are reaction products of nitric oxide and norepinephrine and epinephrine, respectively. The authors have previously reported a method for determination of nitroNE and nitroE in rat brain using high-performance liquid chromatography-peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence reaction detection. In this study, the effect of oxidative stress on nitroNE and nitroE concentrations in rat brain was examined using this method. After kainic acid administration in rats for 2 days, the concentrations of both nitroNE and nitroE in rat brains were found to have increased by 400-600%, which was partly suppressed by the co-administration of a superoxide dismutase mimetic. This indicates that oxidative stress might increase nitroNE and nitroE concentrations in rat brains.
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