T. Zima et al., ACTIVITY OF THE ANTIOXIDANT ENZYMES SUPEROXIDE-DISMUTASE AN GLUTATHIONE-PEROXIDASE IN FETAL ERYTHROCYTES, Prenatal diagnosis, 16(12), 1996, pp. 1083-1085
It is generally accepted that the balance between the formation and in
activation of reactive oxygen species may be abolished within the peri
natal period, as a consequence of rapid changes in tissue oxygen conce
ntration and the development of antioxidant defence enzyme activities.
We studied the ontogeny of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismuta
se (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in fetal blood samples. The
activity of SOD in fetal erythrocytes taken in the 17th gestational we
ek was the same as that in erythrocytes of healthy blood donors. On th
e other hand, GPx activity was significantly lower between the 17th an
d 25th gestational week and at the time of delivery, compared with the
healthy adult control. Our results suggest that the supposed underdev
elopment of the antioxidant system in the lungs or in the other organs
of premature infants cannot be monitored by SOD and GPx activities in
erythrocytes, because these reach adult levels before the 17th week f
or SOD and from the 26th to the 35th gestational week for GPx, with lo
wer levels from the 17th to the 25th week and at term.