Activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase in people protractedly exposed to lead compounds.

Lead can modify pro/antioxidant status by influencing antioxidant enzymes. As the results of experimental researches are divergent, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the activity of enzymes that play a vital role in the defence against ROS in blood of people protractedly exposed to lead compounds. The study population included 172 healthy employees of zinc and lead steelworks. Workers exposed to lead (L) were divided into 2 groups: the first included workers with mean lead concentration (PbB) from 25-35 microl/dl (LL group), and the second group of high exposure (HL group)--with PbB over 35 microl/dl. The administration workers were the control group. There were no significant changes in activity of catalase and mitochondrial SOD in the study population. The activity of ZnCu-SOD significantly increased, both in plasma and erythrocytes, but first in plasma in the LL subgroup by about 42% (p=0.044), and then in erythrocytes in the HL subgroup by about 23% (p=0.012) when compared to the control group. Concentration of TBARS-MDA increased both in serum and erythrocytes. In people protractedly exposed to lead (mean 15 +/- 10 years), there is observed an increased activity of SOD in blood, which seems to be an adoptive mechanism against the raised amount of production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by lead.