Oxygen toxicity and superoxide dismutase as an antioxidant in physiological stress

Although oxygen is vital for all aerobic life forms, excessive levels of oxygen free radical production can lead to potentially lethal oxidative reactions. The role of superoxide dismutase is examined as an integral part of the defence against oxidative injury resulting from various physiological stresses.     

The role of superoxide dismutase in combating oxidative stress in higher plants

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) isozymes are compartmentalized in higher plants and play a major role in combating oxygen radical mediated toxicity. In this review we evaluate the mode of action and effects of the SOD isoforms with respect to oxidative stress resistance, correlating age, species, and specificity of plants during development.     

植物体内干旱信号的传递与基因表达

干旱是严重影响植物生长发育的重要环境胁迫因子之一。干旱能影响植物的水分状态,使植物缺水遭受伤害。近年来,相继从拟南芥等植物中克隆出了一些受干旱诱导的基因,如蛋白激酶基因、光合基因、渗透调节基因、功能蛋白基因（如LEA基因）等。干旱等胁迫信号经历一系列的传递过程,最后诱导这些特定基因的表达。在植物体中,可能存在依赖ABA型和不依赖ABA型两条干旱信号的传递途径。近年来从高等植物中分离出一系列调控干旱相关基因表达的转录因子,通过转录因子之间以及与其它相关蛋白之间的相互作用,激活或抑制干旱等胁迫因子诱导的基因表达。     

Manganese superoxide dismutase regulation and cancer

Mitochondria are the power plants of the eukaryotic cell and the integrators of many metabolic activities and signaling pathways important for the life and death of a cell. Normal aerobic cells use oxidative phosphorylation to generate ATP, which supplies energy for metabolism. To drive ATP production, electrons are passed along the electron transport chain, with some leaking as superoxide during the process. It is estimated that, during normal respiration, intramitochondrial superoxide concentrations can reach 10^?12 M. This extremely high level of endogenous superoxide production dictates that mitochondria are equipped with antioxidant systems that prevent consequential oxidative injury to mitochondria and maintain normal mitochondrial functions. The major antioxidant enzyme that scavenges superoxide anion radical in mitochondria is manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD). Extensive studies on MnSOD have demonstrated that MnSOD plays a critical role in the development and progression of cancer. Many human cancer cells harbor low levels of MnSOD proteins and enzymatic activity, whereas some cancer cells possess high levels of MnSOD expression and activity. This apparent variation in MnSOD level among cancer cells suggests that differential regulation of MnSOD exists in cancer cells and that this regulation may be linked to the type and stage of cancer development. This review summarizes current knowledge of the relationship between MnSOD levels and cancer with a focus on the mechanisms regulating MnSOD expression.     

Distribution of iron-containing superoxide dismutase in vascular plants

Superoxide dismutases (EC 1.15.1.1) in vascular plants representing different evolutionary levels were characterized using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The three forms of the enzyme were distinguished from each other based on the following criteria: a) the Cu-Zn enzyme is sensitive to cyanide wherease the Fe and Mn enzymes are not; and b) the Cu-Zn and Fe enzymes are inhibited by H₂O₂ whereas the Mn enzyme is H₂O₂-resistant. Of the 43 plant families investigated, the Fe-containing superoxide dismutase was found in three families: Gingkoaceae, Nymphaceae, and Cruciferae.     

Nutrition- and virus-induced stress represses the expression of manganese superoxide dismutase in vitro

The relationship between oxidative stress and neuronal cell death has been suggested for many years. To understand the influence of oxidative stress on neuronal cell death, we investigated the influence of oxidative stress on DEV cells, a human glial cell line. Using enterovirus infection and/or malnutrition to induce oxidative stress, our results demonstrate that those stressors severely influence the antioxidant defense system in DEV cells. Although the expression of mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) in DEV cells was significantly increased in acute infection with viral and nutritional stress, in persistent infection and nutritional stress, the expression of the MnSOD was drastically downregulated. We believe that this downregulation of MnSOD expression in the chronic stress model is due to repression of antioxidant defense. The downregulation of the MnSOD expression may lead to an increase of free-radical production and thus explain why the cells in the chronic stress model were more vulnerable to other oxidative stress influences. The vulnerability of DEV cells to additional stress factors resulted in progressive cell death, which may be analogous to the cell death in neurodegenerative diseases.     

盐胁迫条件下古菌超氧化物歧化酶增强细菌降解硝基酚

【背景】Burkholderia sp. SJ98利用对硝基酚和2-氯-4-硝基酚为唯一碳源和能源进行生长,通过异源表达嗜盐古菌Haloferax sp. D1227中的超氧化物歧化酶SodA,使菌株SJ98在500 mmol/L NaCl条件下仍具有降解对硝基酚的能力。然而该重组细菌在普通和高盐条件下其降解基因的转录和降解酶比活力的高低,以及该菌在高盐条件下是否还能降解对硝基酚衍生物尚未知晓。【目的】研究Burkholderia sp. SJ98的耐盐上限,观察含有sodA的细菌SJ98在普通和高盐条件下降解对硝基酚和2-氯-4-硝基酚的能力,检测重组菌中pnpA基因的转录和硝基酚单加氧酶的活力。【方法】在添加葡萄糖、对硝基酚或2-氯-4-硝基酚的无机盐培养基(分别含400-800 mmol/L NaCl)或M9培养基(含0和500 mmol/L NaCl)中培养细菌SJ98及其重组菌。通过紫外分光光度计和高效液相色谱法检测菌株生长和底物降解。通过实时荧光定量PCR分别以两种硝基酚为诱导物,检测未添加和添加500 mmol/L NaCl时,硝基酚单加氧酶编码基因pnpA的转录量变化。利用紫外分光光度计分别以两种硝基酚为底物,检测在添加500 mmol/L NaCl时,重组菌和空载体菌的粗酶液中硝基酚单加氧酶对两种底物的活力变化。【结果】野生型菌株SJ98以葡萄糖为碳源生长的NaCl耐受浓度是600mmol/L。未添加NaCl时,重组菌SJ98[pCM-pnpR-PpnpA-sodA-rfp]生长和降解对硝基酚的能力远优于野生菌。添加500 mmol/L NaCl时,重组菌SJ98[pBBR-sodA]仍保持了利用2-氯-4-硝基苯酚底物生长和降解该底物的能力,而空载体菌SJ98[pBBR1MCS-2]的生长和降解能力完全丧失;重组菌SJ98[pBBR-sodA]粗酶液中单加氧酶对于对硝基酚和2-氯-4-硝基酚的活力均约为野生菌的1/3。分别以两种硝基酚为诱导物时,无论是否添加NaCl,重组菌SJ98[pBBR-sodA]中硝基酚单加氧酶编码基因pnpA的转录量比野生型中高出约17-25倍;但添加500 mmol/L NaCl时,pnpA的转录均受到部分抑制。【结论】本研究为利用古菌超氧化物歧化酶对细菌进行改造以提高普通环境和高盐环境中细菌降解硝基芳烃污染物能力的应用提供了潜在的可行性。     

Neotyphodium endophyte strain and superoxide dismutase activity in perennial ryegrass plants under water deficit

The presence of Neotyphodium endophyte in forage grass tillers has been associated with increased tolerance of abiotic stresses. The effect of four endophyte treatments (plants with three different strains of Neotyphodium lolii compared with plants without endophyte) on superoxide dismutase (SOD) (EC1.15.1.1) activity in Lolium perenne cv ‘Grasslands Samson’ was measured under high and low dehydration regimes in a glasshouse experiment. SOD activity was assayed by a microplate method utilising the inhibition of reduction of a tetrazolium dye by superoxide radicals. A progressive increase in dehydration over 2 weeks reduced shoot fresh weight, dry weight and shoot water content for high, compared with low, moisture-stressed plants. Mean shoot fresh weight was significantly lower for plants with strain AR37 endophyte than for plants with strain AR1 endophyte, wild-type or endophyte-free plants, but there was no interaction between endophyte treatment and dehydration treatment. There were no differences in mean SOD activity between the dehydration treatments, and the four endophyte treatments at any of the harvests. All harvest mean SOD levels for plants in both stress groups, however, were significantly different from the preceding harvest value. Between the first and second week of moisture stress there was a significant endophyte by harvest interaction for mean percentage change in SOD activity when activity in plants with wild-type strain endophyte increased more rapidly than in AR1, AR37 or endophyte-free plants. The results are in agreement with earlier reports suggesting that Neotyphodium endophytes do not have major effects on the water stress physiology of perennial ryegrass, although water deficits applied were not extreme.     

Metabolic regulation of manganese superoxide dismutase expression via essential amino acid deprivation

Organisms respond to available nutrient levels by rapidly adjusting metabolic flux, in part through changes in gene expression. A consequence of adaptations in metabolic rate is the production of mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species. Therefore, we hypothesized that nutrient sensing could regulate the synthesis of the primary defense of the cell against superoxide radicals, manganese superoxide dismutase. Our data establish a novel nutrient-sensing pathway for manganese superoxide dismutase expression mediated through essential amino acid depletion concurrent with an increase in cellular viability. Most relevantly, our results are divergent from current mechanisms governing amino acid-dependent gene regulation. This pathway requires the presence of glutamine, signaling via the tricarboxylic acid cycle/electron transport chain, an intact mitochondrial membrane potential, and the activity of both the MEK/ERK and mammalian target of rapamycin kinases. Our results provide evidence for convergence of metabolic cues with nutrient control of antioxidant gene regulation, revealing a potential signaling strategy that impacts free radical-mediated mutations with implications in cancer and aging.     

Oxidative stress,NO* and smooth muscle cell extracellular superoxide dismutase expression

Oxygen free radicals apparently play important roles in diseases of the blood vessel wall and increased secretion of superoxide radicals occurs in many situations. The vascular wall contains large amounts of extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD). The synthesis of the enzyme by the smooth muscle cells (SMC) is modulated by cytokines, growth factors, and vasoactive factors.Here we studied the effects of oxidants (pyrogallol, xanthine oxidase, Cu and Fe), antioxidants (SOD, catalase, and ascorbate), glutathione modulation (n-acetylcysteine and buthionine sulfoximine) and nitric oxide on EC-SOD expression by human vascular SMCs. Generally, the responses in EC-SOD synthesis were small, and no changes were noted in mRNA levels. High concentrations of some of the agents caused reductions in EC-SOD synthesis, mostly concomitantly with toxic effects on the cells. Cell cultures are normally ascorbate deficient, and addition of ascorbate to approach physiological levels doubled the EC-SOD content. Iron ions up-regulated EC-SOD synthesis but also blocked the secretion of the enzyme. Only down-regulation was found by NO*-releasing compounds.In conclusion, there is limited response to oxidant stress of EC-SOD synthesis by SMCs on a cell-autonomous level. The synthesis appears mainly regulated by factors coordinating concerted tissue responses.     

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate,superoxide dismutase and glutathione as stress response indicators in three corals under short-term hyposalinity stress

Corals are among the most active producers of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a key molecule in marine sulfur cycling, yet the specific physiological role of DMSP in corals remains elusive. Here, we examine the oxidative stress response of three coral species (Acropora millepora, Stylophora pistillata and Pocillopora damicornis) and explore the antioxidant role of DMSP and its breakdown products under short-term hyposalinity stress. Symbiont photosynthetic activity declined with hyposalinity exposure in all three reef-building corals. This corresponded with the upregulation of superoxide dismutase and glutathione in the animal host of all three species. For the symbiont component, there were differences in antioxidant regulation, demonstrating differential responses to oxidative stress between the Symbiodinium subclades. Of the three coral species investigated, only A. millepora provided any evidence of the role of DMSP in the oxidative stress response. Our study reveals variability in antioxidant regulation in corals and highlights the influence life-history traits, and the subcladal differences can have on coral physiology. Our data expand on the emerging understanding of the role of DMSP in coral stress regulation and emphasizes the importance of exploring both the host and symbiont responses for defining the threshold of the coral holobiont to hyposalinity stress.     

Physico-chemical characteristics of superoxide dismutase in Ascaris suum

1. Three SOD isoenzymes obtained from purified extracts of Ascaris suum were characterized. 2. The physico-chemical characteristics studied were: optimum pH, methods of preservation of enzymatic activity, molecular weight, and the u.v. and visible light absorption spectra. 3. The optimum pH for the Cu, Zn SOD I and II was 10.2 and 10.1 for the Mn SOD. 4. The extracts retained their levels of activity longer at -70 degrees C, and after lyophilization. The Mn SOD was more labile than the Cu, Zn SOD I and II. 5. The molecular weights obtained by filtration through Sephadex G-75 were: 73,000 for Mn SOD; 42,600 for Cu, Zn SOD I; and 39,800 for the Cu, Zn SOD II. 6. Both the u.v. and visible light spectra were similar to other dismutases from other sources.     

菘蓝铁型超氧化物歧化酶基因IiFeSOD的克隆与胁迫表达分析

超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)是生物体内超氧阴离子自由基的清除剂,可有效地防止它们对生物体的损害。从菘蓝中经RT-PCR方法扩增得到SOD基因,命名为IiFeSOD,其全长882 bp,包含一个834 bp的ORF,编码277个氨基酸,分析其编码的蛋白质序列显示其属于铁型超氧化物歧化酶,具有线粒体导肽,定位于线粒体中。实时荧光定量PCR技术分析结果表明,IiFeSOD在菘蓝各个组织中均有表达,但表达量高低不同,在叶中表达最高、茎次之、根中最低; 该基因受盐胁迫的诱导,随着盐胁迫强度的加强基因表达量迅速升高而后下降。同时SOD酶活性在盐胁迫处理下表现出类似的变化规律。说明SOD的大量积累与植物的耐逆性密切相关。     

Differential superoxide dismutase expression in ryegrass cultivars in response to short term aluminium stress

Background and aims

Saline soils limit plant production worldwide through osmotic stress, specific-ion toxicities, and nutritional imbalances.

Methods

The ability of Ca²⁺ and K⁺ to alleviate toxicities of Na⁺ and Mg²⁺ was examined using 89 treatments in short-term (48 h) solution culture studies for cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) roots. Root elongation was related to ionic activities at the outer surface of the root plasma membrane.

Results

The addition of K⁺ was found to alleviate the toxic effects of Na⁺, and supplemental Ca²⁺ improved growth further in these partially-alleviated solutions where K⁺ was present. Therefore, Na⁺ appears to interfere with K⁺ metabolism, and Ca²⁺ reduces this interference. Interestingly, the ability of Ca²⁺ to improve K-alleviation of Na⁺ toxicity is non-specific, with Mg²⁺ having a similar effect. In contrast, the addition of Ca²⁺ to Na-toxic solutions in the absence of K⁺ did not improve growth, suggesting that Ca²⁺ does not directly reduce Na⁺ toxicity in these short-term studies (for example, by reducing Na⁺ uptake) when supplied at non-deficient levels. Finally, K⁺ did not alleviate Mg²⁺ toxicity, suggesting that Mg²⁺ is toxic by a different mechanism to Na⁺.

Conclusions

Examination of how the toxic effects of salinity are alleviated provides clues as to the underlying mechanisms by which growth is reduced.