Activities of antioxidant enzymes and cytochrome c oxidase in liver of Arctic and temperate teleosts

Enhanced antioxidant status in polar fishes may occur due to high dissolved oxygen levels and membranes rich in peroxidation-sensitive polyunsaturated fatty acids. To evaluate the importance of antioxidant enzymes in polar fishes, activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione reductase (GR), as well as the aerobic enzyme cytochrome c oxidase (CCO), were measured at 6 °C and 1 °C in livers of confamilial Arctic and temperate teleosts: the Arctic fourhorn sculpin Triglopsis quadricornis (Cottidae) and saddled eelpout Lycodes mucosus (Zoarcidae) vs. the temperate longhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus) (Cottidae) and ocean pout (Zoarces americanus) (Zoarcidae), respectively. At both assay temperatures, CAT activities were substantially lower in both Arctic species, SOD was similar in the cottids but lower in the Arctic zoarcid, and GR was similar in temperate and Arctic fishes. Activities at respective habitat temperatures were always significantly lower in the Arctic fishes. The lower antioxidant enzyme activities in the Arctic fishes cannot be attributed to lower aerobic status because CCO activity was similar or higher in the Arctic fishes; significant negative relationships were found between CCO and CAT and GR (but not SOD) when all species were combined, indicating that a higher apparent aerobic status does not necessarily coincide with higher antioxidant enzyme activities. Antioxidant enzyme activities may not be enhanced as part of cold adaptation in Arctic fishes, at least in the liver.