Serum activity and hepatic localization of superoxide dismutase in alcoholics.

A series of investigations was conducted to trace serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities by ELISA and localizations of hepatic tissue SOD by the indirect method using peroxidase conjugated antibody, and the diagnostic and physiological significance of SOD in 19 alcoholics was studied. The values increased significantly both in serum Cu, Zn-SOD to 136 +/- 18 ng/ml (normally 33 +/- 9 ng/ml) and in serum Mn-SOD to 859 +/- 686 ng/ml(normally 84 +/- 30 ng/ml) respectively when polyclonal antibody was used (P less than 0.001). The increase in serum Mn-SOD was higher than that in serum Cu, Zn-SOD, fluctuations of these values showed similar tendencies. Meanwhile, serum Cu, Zn-SOD (94 +/- 50 ng/ml) identified by monoclonal antibody, also, showed higher values than that of normal subjects (37 +/- 7 ng/ml) (P less than 0.001). On the other hand, localization of hepatic tissue Cu, Zn-SOD in alcoholics varied, being 63.2% in the cytoplasmic diffuse type, 42.0% in the nuclear diffuse type, 42.1% in the vacuolated membrane type, and 15.8% in the small granular type respectively. Participation of Cu, Zn-SOD in ethanol oxidation, protective roles played by cell membrane, lysosome membrane and nucleic acid of Cu, Zn-SOD to harmful free radicals was presumed. In addition, localization of hepatic tissue Mn-SOD was mostly of the cytoplasmic diffuse type (52.7%) and was extremely variable. From such results, relative or absolute reductions of hepatic tissue SOD in alcoholics was suggested to act on the development of tissue injuries acceleratingly.