Activities of the enzymes participating in purine and free-radical metabolism in cancerous human colorectal tissues.

Activities of adenosine deaminase, 5'-nucleotidase, xanthine oxidase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase enzymes were measured in cancerous and non-cancerous adjacent colorectal tissues from 10 patients. Activities of DNA turn-over enzymes (ADA, 5'NT and XO) were found increased and those of free-radical metabolizing enzymes (SOD, GSH-Px and CAT) decreased in cancerous tissues compared with those of non-cancerous adjacent ones. Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in cancerous tissues were also found higher than those of non-cancerous tissues, which indicated accelerated lipid peroxidation in the cancerous tissues. In the correlation analysis, disordered enzymatical relations were observed between the enzymes of both metabolic pathways. Results suggest that activities of purine metabolizing enzymes increase to cope with accelerated purine metabolism in cancerous tissues and, enzymatic antioxidant defense potential of cancerous tissues decreases due to carcinogenic processes in the tissues. Reduced antioxidant defense system makes the cancerous tissue more vulnerable to toxic effects of some free-radical species.