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Influence of Copper Intake and Inflammation on Rat Serum Superoxide Dismutase Activity Levels^1,2,

Department of Foods and Nutrition, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907

Serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity concentrations, though small compared to tissue levels, could contribute to extracellular superoxide radical detoxification and act as indicators of copper status. The present study identified the response of rat serum SOD activity contents to marginal and deficient copper intakes and to inflammation. Rats fed copper-deficient diet (<0.2 mg/kg Cu) for 5 wk displayed serum SOD activity contents that were only about 20% of those found in rats fed copper-supplemented diet (6.0 mg/kg Cu). Activities in rats fed a marginal diet (1.5 mg/kg Cu) were about 55% of those in the adequate rats. Turpentine-induced inflammation lowered serum SOD in rats within each dietary group. However, the change in the marginal group was not statistically significant. Based on chromatographic characterizations and inhibitor studies, rat serum SOD activity seemed to result primarily from a copper protein other than ceruloplasmin, Cu-Zn SOD or the recently discovered tissue extracellular SOD. In conclusion, low copper intake and inflammation may compromise extracellular defenses against superoxide. In addition, serum SOD activities could provide a non-ceruloplasmin-related means of assessing copper status, but nondietary variables can also affect these SOD values.

KEY WORDS: • copper • inflammation • superoxide dismutase • rat serum

¹ Supported by U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Grant No. 85-CRCR-1-1826 and funds from the Purdue Agricultural Experiment Station.

² Presented in part at the 1987 Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Washington, DC [DiSilvestro, R. (1987) Influence of copper intake and inflammation on rat serum superoxide dismutase activity levels. Fed Proc. 46: 568 (abs.)].

Manuscript received 9 June 1987. Revision accepted 8 December 1987.