Oxygen metabolite detoxifying enzyme levels in bleomycin-induced fibrotic lungs

The activities of three enzymes cytosolic superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSHP), and malonyldialdehyde (MDA), a by-product of lipid peroxidation, were determined in whole lungs of normal and bleomycin-treated rats. Two days after bleomycin treatment total lung SOD, CAT, and GSHP activities were significantly (p less than .025) depressed between 15 and 25%. The activities of all three enzymes increased 4 days after bleomycin treatment with only SOD significantly increased at days 4 and 7. Total lung CAT activity remained near normal levels while GSHP activity increased only at day 28 (160.5%, p less than .01) indicating a specificity of the response of lung SOD and GSHP levels. Total lung MDA levels were increased by 17% at 2 and 4 days (p less than .05) after bleomycin treatment, and returned to normal levels at 7 and 28 days. These data suggest that impairment of the lung's ability to detoxify O2 metabolites may play an important role in the development of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis.