Total lactate dehydrogenase and its isoenzymes in serum in the presence of penicillamine and other sulfhydryl compounds.

Toward delineation of changes in total lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and in the distribution of LDH isoenzymes as assessed by polyacrylamide disc electrophoresis, we inbucated human and rat sera with various agents, notably sulfhydryl compounds. Although artefacts were apparent when these agents were used without preliminary adjustment of pH, we saw little alteration in total unitage when one or two volumes of serum was mixed with one volume of any of several thiols, especially penicillamine, at an initial concentration of 0.4 mol/liter and pH 7.0-7.5. Under these conditions, penicillamine caused a loss in LDH-5 after incubation for 1 h at 25 degrees C together with small decreases in mobility of the other four isoenzymes toward the anode. A zymosan region appeared below the albumin and tracking dye area. With longer periods of incubation of rat serum with penicillamine or alpha-mercaptosuccinate, a novel band in the zymogram was noted just above the LDH-4 peak. The observations are discussed in terms of allosteric effectors.