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Glutamate dehydrogenase activity in leukocytes and ageing
1Ormoz Psychiatric Hospital, Ormoz, Slovenia. mk4@siol.net
Background:
Glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) is an intracellular enzyme normally located in mitochondria and the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The metabolism of neuroexcitotoxic glutamate is lowered in many neurodegenerative disorders.
Objective:
Defining the GLDH activity in leukocytes can provide indirect data about neurodegenerative processes in the brain.
Method:
We have developed our own method of defining the GLDH activity in leukocytes.
Results:
The GLDH activity was researched in the leukocytes of 130 healthy subjects (45 females, 85 males). The mean catalytic activity was 0.618 +/- 0.380 mu kat/g. The highest values were discovered in <30-year-old persons: 0.772 +/- 0.434 mu kat/g (0.712 +/- 0.406 mu kat/g in men, 0.934 +/- 0.5 mu kat/g in women). The GLDH activity decreases more slowly in the 30- to 60-year age group, yet evidently more rapidly afterwards, particularly in men, where the activity drops to 0.333 mu kat/g and in women to 0.414 mu kat/g. The older persons had a lower leukocyte GLDH activity than the younger ones (ANOVA, p = 0.000).
Conclusion:
Gradual decrease in GLDH activity may be one of the key factors for neurodegenerative ageing processes.
