Abstract
The present study investigates the change of the specific isoenzyme pattern of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) in the livers of sheep and fish after their exposure to metal pollutants (predominantly Cu, Hg, and Fe) in industrial areas. Moreover, the influence of mercury on the activities of antioxidant enzymes of rumen bacteria Streptococcus bovis and Selenomonas ruminantium have been studied. In the liver of sheep, the new SOD isoforms (pI 5.7, 5.3 and 5.1) were seen in polluted animals as well as in the liver of fish (pI 5.2, 5.1 and 4.45). With regard to GST isoenzymes, in the liver of sheep, subunit 1 was induced in polluted sheep, and subunit 3 was induced in both polluted sheep and fish liver. Subunit 7 was inactivated in sheep and fish liver. The SOD activity of S. bovis which was considered as Mn-SOD, increased when incubated with HgCl2 in both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. S. ruminantium showed no SOD activity. The differences in antioxidant activity between polluted and reference animals led us to propose that the induction of some isoenzymes of SOD and GSTs could provide useful biomarkers for monitoring environmental pollution.
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