Relationship Between the Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Operation and the Levels of Ceruloplasmin Enzymatic Activity as an Antioxidant

Objective: Ceruloplasmin is the major copper-carrying protein in the blood, and in addition plays a role in iron metabolism. Moreover, its antioxidant activity was showed in several studies. In this study, we investigated the relationship between coronary artery bypass graft operation and the levels of ceruloplasmin enzymatic activity. Materials and Methods: The study included 120 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft operation. Peripheral blood samples were taken preoperatively, peroperatively –before and after cardiopulmonary bypass-, at postoperative 4th hour, 3rd day and 5th day. Blood samples before and after cardiopulmonary bypass were also taken from the coronary sinus. The enzymatic activity of ceruloplasmin levels were measured by Erel method. Results: There was a gradual decrease in the enzymatic activity of ceruloplasmin levels after cardiopulmonary bypass. In the postoperative 4th hour and the 1st day, reduction was statistically significant in the blood samples taken peripherally (p=0.025). Activities increased in the postoperative 3rd and 5th days, respectively. According to the coronary sinus blood samples, there were also a significant decrease in the enzymatic activity of ceruloplasmin after cardiopulmonary bypass (p=0,035). Conclusions: Our study showed significant differences in preoperative, peroperative and postoperative levels of the enzymatic activity of ceruloplasmin. The reduction in postoperative period during the 3rd day which was probably due to consumption as a respond to oxidant activity, demonstrated that cardiovascular bypass significantly increased oxidative stress. Enzymatic activity of the ceruloplasmin may be one of the parameters that reflect the response of inflammatory and oxidative stress associated with cardiopulmonary bypass.