Effect of cadmium and glutathione on malic enzyme activity in brown shrimps (Crangon crangon) from the Gulf of Gdańsk*

The high level of cadmium in the abdominal muscle of the brown shrimp Crangon crangon is due to the serious pollution of the water in the Gulf of Gdańsk. The inhibition of malic enzyme (ME) activity by cadmium, and in consequence the reduced formation of NADPH, could interfere with cellular mechanisms for detoxifying the organism and reducing oxidative stress. The reduced glutathione (GSH) concentration in the abdominal muscle of C. crangon was calculated to be 5.8 mM. The objective of this study was to evaluate the part played by GSH in the effect of cadmium on the activity of NADP-dependent malic enzyme from abdominal muscles of brown shrimps. This enzyme is activated by certain divalent cations (Mg, Mn). The results demonstrate that cadmium inhibits ME activity from shrimp muscle, and that GSH and albumin can reduce this cadmium-inhibited NADP-dependent malic enzyme activity.