Time-related increase in mitochondrial superoxide production, biomolecule damage and antioxidant enzyme activities in cortical astrocyte cultures.

According to the free radical theory of aging, biological senescence processes develop from a general failure to maintain organism's homeostasis, probably due to oxidative stress. The brain is particularly susceptible to oxidative damage, and astrocytes are chiefly responsible for its antioxidant defense. Here we evaluated and compared the enzymatic antioxidant activities, mitochondrial superoxide production, and oxidative damage in biomolecule in cortex astrocytes from newborn Wistar rats maintained for 10-13 or 40-47 days in culture.