title: Effect of pregnancy and fetal development on sheep liver superoxide dismutase activity.
abstract: Liver cytosolic CuZn SOD activity of four-week and 12-week pregnant sheep was twice as high as that of their fetuses and almost equal to that of control, barren ewes. By the 20th week of pregnancy activity had decreased by about 70 per cent in the maternal liver and increased to a value similar to that of the controls in the fetuses. The lysosomal CuZn SOD activity remained almost unchanged during pregnancy both in the maternal and fetal livers. Cytosolic and lysosomal CuZn SOD activities of 20-week pregnant sheep and their fetuses showed a similar electrophoretic pattern and low electrophoretic mobility. Hepatic Mn SOD activity increased sharply during fetal development but remained lower than that in both the control and maternal livers. It is proposed that the changes in CuZn SOD and Mn SOD activities are associated with changes in copper metabolism and oxygen utilisation, respectively. The low electrophoretic mobility of CuZn SOD is assumed to be a species specificity.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Academy G. Bonchev, Sofia.
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Konstantinova
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Russanov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology; D003600:Cytosol / Q000201:enzymology; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000201:enzymology*; D008099:Liver / Q000196:embryology / Q000201:enzymology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000378:metabolism*; D012756:Sheep / Q000378:metabolism*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D013482:Superoxide Dismutase