Abstract
The influence in mice of 10 mg kg Leu-enkephalin (LENK) on the activity of hepatic enzymes in serum and liver and sialic acid concentration in serum and spleen is described. The activity of acid and alkalin phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase in serum was significantly enhanced 6 h after a single (10 mg kg ) LENK injection. This effect was not dose-dependent. The increase of acid phosphatase in serum was accompanied by a simultaneous decrease in the liver. While the level of serum sialic acid remained unchanged, it decreased in the spleen 6 h after a single LENK injection. The effect of LENK in the spleen and liver was dose-dependent; ie, the higher the dose the greater the effect. Multiple injections of Leu-enkephalin (6 × 10 mg kg ) induced the same degree of increase but an earlier rise in serum alkaline, acid phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase levels than with a single injection. This was not accompanied by a change of activity in liver and spleen. These data may be relevant for use of LENK in combined chemo-immunotherapy, since liver enzyme changes may alter drug metabolism, and since sialic acid plays a regulatory role in immune processes.
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