Inhibitory effect of free radical scavenger, MCI-186, in the increase of hydroxyl radical induced by iminodipropionitrile in rats.

Beta,beta'-Iminodipropionitrile (IDPN) is known to produce permanent motor behavioral abnormalities in rats. This behavior syndrome is also termed as "ECC Syndrome", the animal model for Gilles de la Tourette syndrome in humans. Some reports showed that these behavioral abnormalities are caused by monoamine changes. However, there was little research on the relation between IDPN-induced behavioral abnormalities and free radical. 3-Methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one (MCI-186), a newly synthesized free radical scavenger, exerts beneficial free radical scavenging and antioxidant characteristics. We investigated that MCI-186 inhibited the process of hydroxyl radical formation induced by IDPN administration in the rat brain. In the group of IDPN administration, hydroxyl radical levels exhibited predominant increase in most parts of the rat brain. In the group of IDPN and MCI-186 administration, hydroxyl radical levels marked significant decrease compared with those in the group of IDPN administration. Therefore, MCI-186 inhibited production of hydroxyl radical and might prove to be effective against ECC syndrome induced by IDPN.