Developmental changes of antioxidant enzymes in kidney and liver from rats.

The five principal antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase, glutathione reductase in the kidney and liver, and the total hepatic glutathione were determined in rats of different ages (1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months). Variance analysis proved the effect of age on the measured enzymes in the respective organ with the exception of glutathione S-transferase. The behavior of the enzymes was not uniform, and there were both increased and decreased changes in the two organs. A clear correlation between cellular antioxidative capacity and the age-specific processes of growing or aging could not be seen. A far more complicated network of interactions has to be assumed.