OBJECTIVE Extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) is a secreted antioxidant enzyme that binds to the outer plasma membrane and extracellular matrix through its heparin-binding domain (HBD). Carriers of a common genetic variant of EC-SOD (EC-SOD(R213G), within the HBD) have higher plasma concentration of EC-SOD and increased risk for vascular disease. In the present study, we used confocal f...

PURPOSE The human cornea, a tissue much exposed to oxidative stress, is rich in extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD). In this study, the contents and distributions of the SOD isoenzymes in the normal human cornea were compared with those in corneas affected by keratoconus and bullous keratopathy. METHODS The central and peripheral parts of normal human corneas were analyzed separately. Ce...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) is expressed intracellularly, while extracellular SOD (EC-SOD) is released from cells. The purpose of this study was to determine whether gene transfer of CuZnSOD increases SOD activity predominantly in tissues, and gene transfer of EC-SOD increases SOD activity in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We also determined whether heparin or ...

Superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) is an important metal-containing antioxidant enzyme that provides the first line of defense against toxic superoxide radicals by catalyzing their dismutation to oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. SOD is classified into four metalloprotein isoforms, namely, Cu/Zn SOD, Mn SOD, Ni SOD and Fe SOD. The structural models of soybean SOD isoforms have not yet been sol...

PURPOSE The authors determined the levels of the secreted, interstitially located extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD), the cytosolic copper- and zinc-containing SOD (CuZn-SOD), and the mitochondrial manganese-containing SOD (Mn-SOD) in tears, cornea, sclera, aqueous humor, lens, vitreous body, and retina of the human eye. METHODS SOD enzymatic activity was determined by the direct spe...

Photosynthesis of leaf discs from transgenic tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum) that express a chimeric gene that encodes chloroplast-localized Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD+) was protected from oxidative stress caused by exposure to high light intensity and low temperature. Under the same conditions, leaf discs of plants that did not express the pea SOD isoform (SOD-) had substantially lower...