Differential antioxidant protection in tissues from marine mammals with distinct diving capacities. Shallow/short vs. deep/long divers

The diving response in marine mammals results in bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction, with blood flow redistributing preferentially to nervous and cardiac tissues. Therefore, some tissues are rendered ischemic during a dive; with the first breath after a dive, blood flow to all tissues is reestablished. In terrestrial mammals, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production increases in response to ischemia/reperfusion and oxidative damage can occur. The capacity of marine mammals to tolerate repeated ischemia/reperfusion cycles associated with diving appears to be due to an enhanced antioxidant system. However, it is not known if diving depth and/or duration elicit differences in tissue capacity to produce ROS and antioxidant defenses in marine mammals. The objective of this study was to analyze ROS production, antioxidant defenses and oxidative damage in marine mammal species that perform shallow/short vs. deep/long dives. We measured production of superoxide radical (O2
- −), oxidative damage to lipids and proteins, activity of antioxidant enzymes, and glutathione levels in tissues from shallow/short divers (Tursiops truncatus) and deep/long divers (Kogia spp.). We found that differences between the diving capacity of dolphins and Kogia spp. are reflected in O2
- − production and antioxidant levels. These differences suggest that shallow/short and deep/long divers have distinct mechanisms to successfully maintain redox balance.