-

The purpose of this study was to investigate the activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatine kinase (CK) and axinase in liver, heart and brain of sheep fetus at different ages.
Results showed no significant differences in AST and ALP in liver
at 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4 months old fetuses (P > 0.05). The level of ALT of liver was lower at 3 and 3.5 old than other ages (P<0.05). Liver arginase increased with the age of fetus and reached the highest value at 4 months old. Heart AST, ALT and ALP levels differed at different ages of sheep fetus but no specific pattern persisted. At all ages, level of AST and ALT of heart was higher than those of liver. CK activity of heart increased with age and reached the highest value at 3 months old. At all ages, CK of heart was significantly higher than brain. These results indicate that metabolic pathways which involve these enzymes are different in various tissues at different stages of development. Furthermore, the prevalance of specific enzymens in certain tissues might make these enzyme valubale markers for detection and diagnosis of abnormalities in animals in prenatal stages.