Effects of hexavalent chromium on the activities of enzymes of glycolysis and pentose phosphate path in rabbit leucocytes
H. L. Antonyak1, N. P. Homych2
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1Lviv Ivan Franko National University,
str.Saksaghanskogho, 1; Lviv, 79005, Ukraine
2Lviv National Agrarian University,
str.V.Velykoho,1;Dubliany, 80381,Ukraine
Environmental contamination by compounds of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), which are often found in industrial wastes, represents risk of metal intake by farm animals and humans. Among toxic effects of chromium its impacts on metabolism in leukocytes, in particular, catabolism of carbohydrates, which are important energy substrates in immune cells, are of significant attention. The purpose of our work was to study the activity of enzymes that catalyze specific reactions of glycolysis and the pentose phosphate path in neutrophils and lymphocytes of rabbits under conditions of a daily intake of hexavalent chromium.
The activities of pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in the populations of blood leucocytes of rabbits treated with potassium dichromate at doses of 5 mg/kg of body weight (intragastrically) and 10 mg/kg of body weight (with drinking water) for 14 and 60 days respectively was investigated. It was established that the metabolic response of neutrophilic granulocytes and lymphocytes to hexavalent chromium depended on the dose and duration of K2Cr2O7 administration and was characterized by the features related to the type of metabolism and specific functions of immune cells. In neutrophils of both studied groups of rabbits lactate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities increased. The activities of enzymes in rabbit lymphocytes decreased, especially after 60-day intake of K2Cr2O7 with drinking water. Inhibition of enzymes that catalyze the final stages of glycolysis, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in lymphocytes may represent one of the links in the mechanisms of suppression of immune function of animals under influence of hexavalent chromium.
Keywords: hexavalent chromium, immune system, leucocytes, neutrophilic granulocytes, lymphocytes, energy metabolism, rabbits
