Figure 4

Ricin-induced increases of oxidative stress in liver and kidney and protection by nicotine. Exposure of mice to ricin (50 µg/kg) for 14 h resulted in significantly increased liver and kidney MDA levels indicative of oxidative stress. Nicotine partially prevented the increased oxidative stress in the liver while completely protecting the kidney from ricinmediated increases in oxidative stress. Nicotine alone had no effect on oxidative stress in either organ. Results are mean ± SEM (n = 10), *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated mice, ^†P < 0.05, ^††P < 0.01 versus ricin-treated mice.