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BAL fluid contains detectable superoxide dismutase 1 activity
R A DiSilvestro1, E Pacht, W B Davis
1Human Nutrition and Food Management, The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.
Objective:
This study determined which, if any, of the three superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme activities were detectable in BAL fluid (BALF).
Background:
The identity and concentrations of antioxidant molecules in BALF have not been fully characterized. One important class of antioxidants is that of the SOD enzymes.
Methods:
BALF from control nonsmokers (n=9), smokers (n=7), and asthmatic subjects (n=12) were examined for SOD activity by a modified pyrogallol auto-oxidation method. The particular SOD enzyme or enzymes responsible for any activity were identified based on activity inhibition data and gel filtration column chromatography patterns.
Results:
SOD activity was detected in all samples. Unlike serum or some other fluids, in which the enzyme extracellular SOD accounts for virtually all SOD activity, the enzyme SOD 1 accounted for virtually all SOD activity. BALF SOD activities were lower for smokers than for control or asthmatic subjects (p<0.05).
Conclusion:
BALF SOD 1 activities can be measured as part of lung antioxidant studies. Data from a limited number of subjects suggested that smokers can have low BALF SOD values.