Leukocyte Peroxidase Deficiency in a Family with a Dominant Form of Kuf's Disease

Abstract

Use of a spectrophotomtetric assay of peroxidase with p-phenylenediamine as cosubstrate demonstrated deficient enzymne activity in leukocytes from two patients with a dominantly inherited form of ceroid lipofuscinosis (Kuf's disease) and a clinically hlealthy unaffected sibling. When the reaction was performned in the absence of added hydrogen peroxide, oxidation of the p-phenylenediamnine cosubstrate (indicating the presence of endogenous peroxide) occurred only with enzyme samnples from the three siblings but not with those from a large number of unrelated, unaffected controls. This demonstrates that the deficiency of peroxide) found previously in the recessively inherited infantile and juvenile formns of ceroid lipofuscinosis (Batten-Spielmeyer-Vogt disease) is also present in an adult form with dominant inheritance.