Age and sex-related changes in superoxide dismutase activity in bovine tissues

Abstract

The influence of age, gender, and type of tissue on superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in bovine organs and tissues was investigated. The investigated material consisted of fragments of tissues and organs (liver, heart, lung, kidney, skeletal muscles, and diaphragm) from healthy cows (n = 15), bulls (n = 15), and female calves (n = 12) collected immediately after slaughter at the slaughterhouse. The total SOD activity was measured in tissue and organ homogenates by spectrophotometric method. PAGE electrophoresis and Western blotting technique with specific anti-SOD antibodies as well as zymography confirmed the presence of enzymatic protein and SOD isoenzymes in examined tissues. The study revealed significant differences in SOD activity between organs and tissues, which might be connected with different metabolic rate. Age-related changes were also observed. SOD activity was twice higher in kidneys, lungs, heart of calves compared to other groups of animals. It was also noticed that SOD activity was higher in younger animals and decreased with ageing among the group of bulls. Gender-related differences were observed in lungs and diaphragm. It was concluded that SOD activity depends on sex steroids, which is reflected in age and gender discrepancies, as well as metabolic rate of tissues.