Serum antioxidant status and adenosine deaminase activity during the gestational period of sheep

The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum oxidative status and adenosine deaminase activity during the gestational period in sheep. A total of 16 sheep fed with rations formulated according to the period of gestation were included in this study, and serum samples were obtained at pre-conception (PC), on the 1, 2, 3, and 4 months of pregnancy and on the 5(th) month just after the postpartum (JP) for determining the variations of the malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide (NO), beta-carotene and vitamin A concentrations as well as the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) and adenosine deaminase (ADA) activities with adequate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The MDA and beta-carotene concentrations early and markedly increased during pregnancy while the increase in GSH concentrations was delayed and more progressive and SOD activity weakly varied during pregnancy but reached significantly elevated values just after the postpartum. By contrast, vitamin A and NO concentrations were significantly depressed and the variations of the ADA activity exhibited a bimodal profile with maximal value on the first month and minimal value on the 4th month. These results demonstrate the occurrence of an oxidative stress during pregnancy in sheep and that the tissue adenosine contents were sequentially controlled by the important ADA activity fluctuations.