[5'-nucleotidase activity in the organs of cattle, sheep and swine].

Studied was the activity of 5'-nucleotidase (EC3.1.3.5.) in organs (liver, lung, spleen, heart, kidney, small intestine, skeletal muscles of the loin region, bones, and ruminal wall, resp., stomach wall in swines) of three groups of cattle, sheep, and pigs with 12 animals in each. With cattle the activity of the enzyme was essentially high in the liver (9.92 +/- 1.19) and substantially lower in the lungs (5.81 +/- 0.38), small intestine (3.84 +/- 0.61), and kidneys (1.09 +/- 0.08). In the remaining organs the enzyme activity was either negligible or in traces, and in the ruminal wall there was no such activity at all. In sheep the enzyme activity was highest in the lungs (0.61 +/- 0.5), followed by the liver (6.92 +/- 0.44), and the spleen (4.35 +/- 0.39). The activity was almost one and the same in the heart, kidneys, and small intestine (2.43-3.42), and there were only traces in skeletal muscles and bones. With pigs the activity of 5'-nucleotidase was highest in the small intestine (6.30 +/- 1.14); it was lower in the liver, spleen, and stomach (5.94-4.42), and lowest--in the heart, body muscles, and bones (0.9-0.33). To determine the diagnostic value of the blood serum level of the enzyme it is necessary to carry out investigations with these species of animals when affected with various diseases.