Stress Reaction and Biochemical Shock as Interrelated and Unavoidable Components in the Formation of High Radioresistance of the Body in Acute Hypoxia

Abstract

Stress reactions with activation of the sympathetic-adrenal system due to acute hypoxia reflects the degree of sensitivity of the body to this extreme factor. Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activation in cells as an adaptive response to acute hypoxia is closely associated with the degree of disturbance of tissue respiration through a lack of oxygen in the tissues, including the manifestation of “biochemical shock,” which is an unavoidable component of implementation of the protective effect of radioprotectors. In experiments on mice, rats, and dogs, the correlation between the manifestation of the radioprotective effect of acute hypoxia and SDH activation in blood lymphocytes, caused primarily by adrenergic stimulation during stress reactions, is confirmed. The degree of SDH activation in blood lymphocytes by hypoxia of different origins including that induced by radioprotectors may indicate its radioprotective potential irrespective of the differences in the oxygen consumption intensity and the resistance to acute hypoxia in animals and humans.