PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON SHEEP BLOOD-PLASMA AMINE OXIDASE - EFFECT OF PREGNANCY AND EXPERIMENTAL ALLOXAN-INDUCED DIABETES-MELLITUS

A copper-containing amine oxidase is present in sheep blood plasma and has a high capacity to deaminate spermine and spermidine. The physiological function of this enzyme remains to be determined. Sheep blood plasma amine oxidase (SPAO) was measured by its ability to deaminate spermidine (700-mu-M) using a peroxidase-linked colorimetric assay developed for microtitre plates. SPAO activity has been studied in a group of Welsh Mountain sheep with experimental alloxan-induced diabetes. This resulted in an increase in SPAO activity which reached a peak of 70 days after alloxan treatment (60 per cent increase). This change could be seen in both pregnant and non-pregnant diabetic sheep. In normal pregnant ewes, SPAO activity remained stable for the first 100 days of pregancy but declined by 50 per cent in the last month of pregancy. Together, these findings suggest that SPAO activity is controlled by hormonal influences. This sensitive and convenient assay method could provide clues as to the physiological significance of SPAO and may be a useful clinical chemical indicator in the sheep.