Erythrocyte superoxide dismutase in various hematological diseases

We measured superoxide scavenging activity (SSA) of erythrocytes with the recently developed chemiluminescence method by Nakano et al in Down syndrome and various hematological diseases. Hematological disorders were aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, multiple myeloma, malignant lymphoma and chronic myelogenous leukemia. The SSA of erythrocytes was 1.7 times higher in Down syndrome, which was consistent with values reported in the previous publications. The erythrocyte SSA in patients of multiple myeloma treated with interferon-alpha was higher than that in healthy volunteers. The erythrocyte SSA in myelodysplastic syndrome, malignant lymphoma and chronic myelogenous leukemia did not differ from that in healthy volunteers. The mean value of erythrocyte SSA in aplastic anemia also remained within normal range. However, when an individual's hemoglobin concentration was compared with his or her own erythrocyte SSA, there was a clear correlation between them. Namely erythrocyte SSA increased when anemia was severe. There was no correlation between erythrocyte SOD activity and ageing.