Superoxide dismutase levels following liver and kidney intoxication.

Abstract

The behavior of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in inflammatory lesions is interesting, because SOD is a scavenger of superoxide anion radical which is produced to excess in inflammation. In order to clarify the relationship between diseases and SOD levels in serum, we induced renal damage in the rabbit or liver damage in the rabbit and guinea pig, and then monitored the SOD levels and other clinical values. We observed the increase of serum cuprozinc-superoxide dismutase (Cu, Zn-SOD) concentration following kidney intoxication caused by the ligation of renal artery, and the increase of manganese-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) concentration following liver intoxication caused by the injection of carbon tetrachloride. From these results, we confirmed the reports that serum Cu, Zn-SOD and Mn-SOD concentrations were markedly increased in patients with renal diseases and liver diseases, respectively.