d-Serine administration provokes lipid oxidation and decreases the antioxidant defenses in rat striatum.

The present work investigated the effects of intrastriatal administration of d-serine on relevant parameters of oxidative stress in striatum of young rats. d-Serine significantly induced lipid peroxidation, reflected by the significant increase of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, and significantly diminished the striatum antioxidant defenses, as verified by a decrease of the levels of reduced glutathione and total antioxidant status. Finally, d-serine inhibited superoxide dismutase activity, without altering the activities of glutathione peroxidase and catalase. In contrast, this d-amino acid did not alter sulfhydryl oxidation, a measure of protein oxidative damage. The present data indicate that d-serine in vivo administration induces lipid oxidative damage and decreases the antioxidant defenses in the striatum of young rats. Therefore, it is presumed that this oxidative stress may be a pathomechanism involved at least in part in the neurological damage found in patients affected by disorders in which d-serine metabolism is compromised, leading to altered concentrations of this d-amino acid.