TISSUE ENZYME ACTIVITIES IN THE LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE (CARETTA CARETTA)

The loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, one of the seven species of threatened or endangered sea turtles worldwide, is one of the most commonly encountered marine turtles off the eastern coast of the United States and Gulf of Mexico. Although biochemical reference ranges have been evaluated for...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine 2013-03, Vol.44 (1), p.62-69
Main Authors: Anderson, Eric T, Socha, Victoria L, Gardner, Jennifer, Byrd, Lynne, Manire, Charles A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adipose Tissue - enzymology
Amylase
Animals
biochemistry
Blood plasma
Brain - enzymology
Caretta caretta
Enzyme activity
Enzymes
Enzymes - classification
Enzymes - isolation & purification
Enzymes - metabolism
Female
Gastrointestinal Tract - enzymology
Genitalia - enzymology
Kidneys
Liver
loggerhead
Male
Muscle tissues
Muscle, Skeletal - enzymology
Myocardium
Myocardium - enzymology
sea turtle
Sea turtles
Skin - enzymology
Spinal Cord - enzymology
Thymus Gland - enzymology
tissue enzyme
Tissue samples
Turtles
Turtles - physiology
Urinary Tract - enzymology
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Summary:The loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, one of the seven species of threatened or endangered sea turtles worldwide, is one of the most commonly encountered marine turtles off the eastern coast of the United States and Gulf of Mexico. Although biochemical reference ranges have been evaluated for several species of sea turtles, tissue specificity of the commonly used plasma enzymes is lacking. This study evaluated the tissue specificity of eight enzymes, including amylase, lipase, creatine kinase (CK), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), in 30 tissues from five stranded loggerhead sea turtles with no evidence of infectious disease. Amylase and lipase showed the greatest tissue specificity, with activity found only in pancreatic samples. Creatine kinase had high levels present in skeletal and cardiac muscle, and moderate levels in central nervous system and gastrointestinal samples. Gamma-glutamyl transferase was found in kidney samples, but only in very low levels. Creatine kinase, ALP, AST, and LDH were found in all tissues evaluated and ALT was found in most, indicating low tissue specificity for these enzymes in the loggerhead.
ISSN:1042-7260
1937-2825
DOI:10.1638/1042-7260-44.1.62