Tissue Lysosomal Enzyme Changes in Seleniumdeficient Myopathic Lambs

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Abstract
Tissues for enzyme assays were taken from 6-week-old and 24-week-old lambs whose dams had been fed alfalfa hay containing either adequate or deficient levels of selenium. There were no significant differences in the levels of aryl sulfatase in any of the tissues or in the levels of β-glucuronidase, alkaline or acid phosphatases in the heart, liver, kidney or spleen between normal and selenium-deficient (white muscle disease, WMD) 6-week-old lambs. However, the skeletal muscle levels of β-glucuronidase, alkaline and acid phosphatases were significantly higher in WMD than in normal lambs, except acid phosphatase in longissimus dorsi muscle. The proteolytic and autolytic activities were significantly higher in semitendinosus muscle, but not in the heart or liver, of WMD lambs. Acid phosphatase and β-glucuronidase levels were significantly higher in all of the intracellular fractions of the semitendinosus muscle in WMD lambs. The correlation coefficients for acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, β-glucuronidase, proteolytic or autolytic activities with severity of muscle damage in 6-week-old lambs were 0.65, 0.44, 0.72, 0.92 and 0.49, respectively. The activity of these enzymes in the semitendinosus muscle of 24-week-old lambs which had WMD at 6 weeks of age was not significantly higher, suggesting a recovery from this myopathy with age. Other evidences for this are also discussed.