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Changes in the superoxide radical and superoxide dismutase levels in the uterus of Rattus norvegicus during the estrous cycle and a possible role for superoxide radical in uterine oedema and cell proliferation at proestrus.

Superoxide anion radical, a radical whose toxicity is well documented, is present in the uterus of albino rat. The cyclic changes that it undergoes during the reproductive cycle are also illustrated. An inverse correlation is seen between the levels of superoxide radical and the enzyme dismutating it, i.e., superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1), which is also reported to be present in the uterus of albino rat and is shown to exhibit cyclic changes during its oestrous cycle. The high levels of superoxide radical at pro-oestrus enable us to hypothesize that superoxide may be involved in regulating the oedema and cell proliferation of the uterus during proestrus.

Animals

Superoxide dismutase of the eye: relative functions of superoxide dismutase and catalase in protecting the ocular lens from oxidative damage.

1. Activities of superoxide dismutase (superoxide: superoxide oxidoreductase, EC 1.15.1.1) have been estimated in eye tissues. In rabbit eye, superoxide dismutase is present in corneal epithelium, corneal endothelium, lens, iris, ciliary body and retina. In lens the activity is in capsule epithelium. 2. Copper chelator diethyldithiocarbamate inhibited lens superoxide dismutase in vitro and in vivo in rabbit. 3. H2O2 caused inhibition of superoxide dismutase activity of lens extract, and this inhibition was potentiated by the catalase inhibitor 3-amino-1H-1,2,4-triazole (3-aminotriazole) or NaN3. 3-Aminotriazole or NaN3 had no effect on lens superoxide dismutase. Thus endogenous catalase of lens affords protection to the lens superoxide dismutase from inactivation by H2O2. 4. In rabbit having early cataract (vacuolar stage) induced by feeding-3-aminotriazole, there was a decrease in superoxide dismutase of lens, a fall in ascorbic acid of ocular humors and lens, and a 2--3-Fold increase in H2O2 of aqueous humor and vitreous humor. We conclude that catalase of eye affords protection to the lens from H2O2 and it also protects superoxide dismutase of lens from inactivation by H2O2. Superoxide dismutase, in turn, protects the lens from the superoxide radical, O2.-. It is likely that inhibition of these enzymes may lead to production of the highly reactive oxidant, the hydroxyl radical, under pathological conditions when H2O2 concentration in vivo exceeds physiological limits as in cataract induced by 3-aminotriazole. A scheme of reaction mechanism has been proposed to explain the relative functions of ocular catalase and superoxide dismutase. Such a mechanism may be involved in cataractogenic process in the human.

Amitrole

Subcellular distribution of superoxide dismutases in human neutrophils. Influence of myeloperoxidase on the measurement of superoxide dismutase activity.

We have identified two distinct pools of superoxide dismutase in fractions of human peripheral neutrophils obtained by the isopycnic fractionation of homogenates of the latter with linear sucrose gradients. Superoxide dismutase activity, observed with polyacrylamide gels impregnated with Nitro Blue Tetrazolium, was present in: (1) the mitochondrial fraction [density (rho) 1.169g/ml], containing the high-molecular-weight KCN-resistant enzyme, and (2) the cytoplasm fraction, containing the low-molecular-weight KCN-sensitive enzyme. Superoxide dismutase activity, observed with a quantitative assay involving cytochrome c, was present in: (1) the mitochondria, (2) the cytoplasm, and (3) the azurophil-granule fractions (rho=1.206 and 1.222g/ml). No substantial enzyme activity was observed in specific-granule fractions (rho=1.187g/ml) or in the membranous fraction (rho=1.136g/ml) in either assay. The apparent superoxide dismutase activity observed in the azurophil granules with the cytochrome c assay was attributable not to true superoxide dismutase but to myeloperoxidase, an enzyme found solely in the azurophil granules. In the presence of H(2)O(2), human neutrophil myeloperoxidase oxidized ferrocytochrome c. Thus, in the cytochrome c assay for superoxide dismutase, the oxidation of ferrocytochrome c by myeloperoxidase mimicked the inhibition of reduction of ferricytochrome c by superoxide dismutase. When myeloperoxidase was removed from azurophilgranule fractions by specific immuno-affinity chromatography, both myeloperoxidase and apparent superoxide dismutase activities were removed. It is concluded that there is no detectable superoxide dismutase in either the azurophil or specific granules of human neutrophils. Mitochondrial superoxide dismutase, 15% of the total dismutase activity of the cells, occurred only in fractions of density 1.160g/ml, where isocitrate dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase were also observed.

Centrifugation, Isopycnic

Alteration of endogenous glutathione peroxidase, manganese superoxide dismutase, and glutathione transferase activity in cells transfected with a copper-zinc superoxide dismutase expression vector. Explanation for variations in paraquat resistance.

Transfection of a human pSV2 (copper-zinc) superoxide dismutase expression vector into murine fibroblasts resulted in stable clones producing increased amounts of copper-zinc superoxide dismutase. A marked increase in endogenous glutathione peroxidase activity (up to 285%) and a smaller increase in glutathione transferase activity (up to 16%) also occurred. Manganese superoxide dismutase activity was decreased in all clones, whereas catalase and NADPH reductase activities were not affected. Alterations in glutathione peroxidase and manganese superoxide dismutase activities correlated with increases in copper-zinc superoxide dismutase activity. Whereas all clones were resistant to paraquat, a direct correlation between copper-zinc superoxide dismutase activity and resistance to paraquat did not exist. In agreement with previous reports clones expressing the highest copper-zinc superoxide dismutase activity did not display the highest resistance to paraquat. However, there was a direct correlation between the increase in glutathione peroxidase activity and paraquat resistance (p less than 0.002).

Animals

Superoxide production in pulmonary alveolar macrophages and killing of BCG by the superoxide-generating system with or without catalase.

The superoxide production of BCG-infected and noninfected alveolar macrophages was measured by superoxide dismutase-inhibitable nitro blue tetrazolium reduction. The cells were incubated with or without cell-free bronchial lavage fluid (pulmonary washings). When control alveolar macrophages were infected by BCG, superoxide production was decreased markedly, probably due to bacterial cytotoxic factors. In contrast, the production of superoxide in alveolar macrophages exposed to pulmonary washings was increased and not appreciably influenced by BCG infection. Superoxide production by alveolar macrophages was dependent on time and on the protein concentration in the pulmonary washings. In controls, it was inversely proportional to the infecting dose of BCG. We observed previously that alveolar macrophages activated by pulmonary washings inhibited intracellular growth of BCG. We now present evidence that enhanced production of superoxide contributes to such inhibition, especially in the presence of catalase at acid pH. These findings are pertinent to the defense of inflamed lungs, where serum and serum immunoglobulin G transuded from blood into alveolar spaces probably induce such activation on alveolar macrophages.

Animals

Polyethylene glycol-conjugated superoxide dismutase fails to augment brain superoxide dismutase activity in piglets.

We studied the effect of intravenously administered polyethylene glycol-conjugated superoxide dismutase (8,000 units/kg) on brain superoxide dismutase activity in 44 1-2-week-old piglets in the absence and presence of global cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. Four groups (n = 6 each) of piglets not exposed to ischemia were studied. Enzyme administration increased plasma superoxide dismutase activity from less than 5 to 142 +/- 8 units/ml (mean +/- SEM) without increasing brain activity (e.g., activities in the caudate were 7.9 +/- 0.5 and 8.1 +/- 0.4 units/mg protein) for up to 2 hours following administration. Four additional groups (n = 5 each) of piglets were given either enzyme or polyethylene glycol 5 minutes prior to 10 minutes of global cerebral ischemia induced by aortic cross-clamping followed by either 5 or 45 minutes of reperfusion. Enzyme administration increased plasma superoxide dismutase activity from less than 5 to 144 +/- 5 units/ml but failed to increase brain activity even after 45 minutes of reperfusion (e.g., activities in the caudate were 8.5 +/- 0.3 and 8.6 +/- 0.6 units/mg protein). We conclude that intravenous polyethylene glycol-conjugated superoxide dismutase does not increase superoxide dismutase activity in the brain despite global ischemia and reperfusion.

Animals

Osteoclastic superoxide generation: taking control of bone resorption using modulators of superoxide concentrations.

We have examined the role of superoxide in bone resorption by stimulating defective superoxide production and bone resorption in patients with osteopetrosis and inhibiting superoxide production and bone resorption in murine calvarial explants. Interferon gamma treatment did stimulate superoxide generation and bone resorption in patients with osteopetrosis as evidenced by a reduction in bone volume and an increase in biochemical markers of bone resorption. Further, lowering the superoxide concentrations within calvarial osteoclasts using a scavenger, desferal manganese, decreased bone resorption. We conclude that superoxide generation by osteoclasts is necessary for normal osteoclastic function.

Animals

Effects of superoxide radicals on transport (Na + K) adenosine triphosphatase and protection by superoxide dismutase.

Membrane (Na +K)ATPase isolated from rat brain was preincubated in a medium in which superoxide radicals were generated enzymatically. Exposure to superoxide radicals caused an irreversible inactivation, which could be prevented by further addition of superoxide dismutase. (Na + K)ATPase was also protected by addition of allopurinol, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, during preincubation. The K-activated nitrophenylphosphatase associated with (Na + K)ATPase was also found to be inactivated by preincubation with superoxide radicals, which could be prevented by superoxide dismutase.

Allopurinol

Rickettsia rickettsii induces superoxide radical and superoxide dismutase in human endothelial cells.

Human endothelial cells infected with Rickettsia rickettsii, the etiological agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, undergo striking morphological changes to the endoplasmic reticulum-outer nuclear envelope complex. These changes are accompanied by concurrent accumulation of intracellular peroxides. Both of these findings are consistent with the notion that cells undergo some form of oxidative stress. Since oxidant injury is often initiated or mediated through oxygen radicals, we examined superoxide radical generation when endothelial cells were exposed to R. rickettsii. We also examined the levels of superoxide dismutase, an enzyme induced in response to increased superoxide formation. The levels of both superoxide and superoxide dismutase increased when endothelial cells were exposed to R. rickettsii. These results, together with our previous findings, support our hypothesis that cells infected by this intracellular bacterium experience oxidant-mediated injury that may eventually contribute to cell death.

Cells, Cultured

Superoxide-dependent and superoxide-independent pathways for reduction of nitroblue tetrazolium in isolated rat cardiac myocytes.

Spectroscopic studies indicated that nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) could be reduced to blue formazan by several distinct reactions in suspensions of isolated rat cardiac myocytes. Both NADPH- and NADH-linked pathways for reduction of NBT were observed. NADPH-linked NBT reduction showed little activity in the absence of digitonin, but could be stimulated an average of 9.5-fold by digitonin permeabilization of the plasma membrane. NADH-linked NBT reduction occurred in the absence of digitonin, and could be increased an average of 3.5-fold by digitonin treatment. Analysis of the effects of cell viability on the extent of digitonin stimulation with these substrates suggested that the NADPH-linked reaction involved a cytosolic component, while the NADH-linked reaction involved an intracellular membrane enzyme system. With either NADPH or NADH, NBT reduction was completely inhibited by dicoumarol (100 microM). Dicoumarol-insensitive NBT reduction could subsequently be observed following the addition of 2 mM cyanide, a level of cyanide known to inhibit cytosolic superoxide dismutase. Cyanide-stimulated, dicoumarol-insensitive NBT reduction was augmented by the presence of either antimycin or doxorubicin, two agents which enhance superoxide formation by different mechanisms. The results indicate the existence of multiple pathways for both superoxide-independent and superoxide-dependent reduction of NBT. Dicoumarol-insensitive, cyanide-stimulated NBT reduction may be useful as a spectroscopic probe for intracellular superoxide formation.

Animals

Effects of phenolcarboxylic acids on superoxide anion and lipid peroxidation induced by superoxide anion.

The effects of phenolcarboxylic acids, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, and ferulic acid on the generation of superoxide anion and the production of lipid peroxide induced by superoxide anion were studied. Only ferulic acid anion among the phenolcarboxylic acids scavenged superoxide. Caffeic acid and ferulic acid inhibited lipid peroxidation induced by superoxide anion. These effects were comparable to those of superoxide dismutase or DL-alpha-tocopherol.

Caffeic Acids

Bactericidal activity of superoxide anion and of hydrogen peroxide: investigations employing dialuric acid, a superoxide-generating drug.

The addition of dialuric acid (a superoxide-generating drug) to a suspension of resting human neutrophils resulted in a stimulation of cellular hexose monophosphate shunt activity. Measurement of oxygen consumption demonstrated a rapid rate of oxygen uptake by the drug alone in aqueous solution. The subsequent addition of catalase (but not of superoxide dismutase) resulted in a substantial release of oxygen, indicating that H(2)O(2) was accumulating in the media. The generation of O(2) (-) by the drug was verified by measuring the rate of reduction of cytochrome c by the drug in the presence and absence of authentic superoxide dismutase. The growth of Escherichia coli B and Staphylococcus aureus was inhibited in vitro by addition of the drug to a suitable culture media; the degree of inhibition was dose dependent. This inhibition of bacterial growth could be completely reversed by the addition of as little as 5 mug of purified catalase, but was not affected by concentrations of superoxide dismutase that were 2,000-fold higher. These results suggest that the dialuric acid-induced stimulation of hexose monophosphate shunt activity in neutrophils is due to accumulated H(2)O(2). Further, the contribution of superoxide to the bactericidal activity towards E. coli and S. aureus is probably minimal compared with that of H(2)O(2).

Barbiturates

Cyanide insensitive iron superoxide dismutase in Euglena gracilis. Comparison of the reliabilities of different test systems for superoxide dismutases.

Two proteins (P1 and P2, with weights of 57,500 and 27,500 respectively) were isolated from Euglena gracilis. Both proteins show cyanide-insensitive superoxide dismutase activity in the "classical" superoxide dismutase assay, using xanthine-xanthine oxidase as O2.- generator. If O2.- is generated chemically (autoxidation of reduced anthraquinone), photochemically (illuminated riboflavine) or pulse radiolytically, only protein P1 but not P2 shows SOD activity. Protein P1 contains 1 g atom (determined: 0.82) iron (no Mn or Cu) per mole protein and may thus be defined as iron-superoxide dismutase. Protein P2, showing the spectral properties of a flavoprotein, exhibits the activities of ferredoxin-NADP-oxidoreductase and "diaphorase". The cyanide-insensitive SOD-activity of this Diaphorase" in the xanthine oxidase-assay for superoxide dismutase makes this classical and commonly used test unreliable for assay cyanide insensitive SOD activities. The existence of the "prokaryote-type" of superoxide dismutase (Fe-SOD) in Euglena gracilis is exceptional for an eukaryotic, autotrophically grown organisms.

2,6-Dichloroindophenol

Effects of the superoxide radical scavenger superoxide dismutase, and of the hydroxyl radical scavenger mannitol, on reperfusion injury in isolated rabbit hearts.

Hydroxyl radical formation, secondary to superoxide radical generation, has been advocated as the actual mechanism of oxygen radical-mediated damage in biological systems. The present study was designed to compare the efficacy of administration of the hydroxyl radical scavenger mannitol vs. that of the superoxide radical scavenger superoxide dismutase (SOD) in reducing myocardial reperfusion injury, and to test whether combined treatment with both agents would confer better tissue protection compared with either intervention alone. Rabbit hearts perfused within a 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (31P-NMR) spectrometer were subjected to 30 minutes of total global ischemia at 37 degrees C. At reflow, 12 hearts in each group received either (a) a bolus of standard perfusion buffer, followed by 45 minutes of reperfusion (controls); (b) the superoxide radical scavenger recombinant human SOD (h-SOD, as a 60,000 U bolus followed by a 100 U/ml infusion for 15 minutes); (c) the hydroxyl radical scavenger mannitol (50 mM bolus followed by 15 minutes of 50 mM infusion; or (d) a combination of both agents. All treated hearts were switched to standard buffer for the remaining 30 minutes of reperfusion. Treatment with h-SOD alone was associated with a significant improvement in the recovery of cardiac contractility and coronary flow, as well as of ATP content, compared to control hearts. In contrast, mannitol treatment resulted in a small, nonsignificant improvement in these parameters. The addition of mannitol to h-SOD did not result in further significant improvement of contractility and ATP recovery compared to h-SOD alone. These data demonstrate that under our experimental conditions significant protection against reperfusion injury can be achieved by the administration of h-SOD alone, without the need for additional hydroxyl radical scavenger therapy with mannitol. These results do not exclude that significant tissue protection may be achieved by different doses of mannitol or by other agents. However, they suggest that under definite experimental conditions prevention of hydroxyl radical formation, rather than attempts to minimize hydroxyl radical toxicity, might be a more efficient method to prevent oxygen radical-mediated reperfusion injury in isolated hearts.

Adenosine Triphosphate

Generation of superoxide radicals in alkaline solutions of hydrogen peroxide and the effect of superoxide dismutase on this system.

Superoxide radicals in high concentrations were generated from alkaline H2O2 without using catalysts or irradiation. The dependence of the intensity and parameters of the superoxide radical EPR spectrum on pH, temperature, viscosity and H2O2 concentration were studied. The observed changes are explained on the base of matrix effects. The addition of superoxide dismutase to alkaline H2O2 led initially to a drop in the EPR spectrum intensity, followed by an increase in the concentration of superoxide radicals.

Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy

Superoxide radical level and superoxide dismutase activity changes in maturing mammalian spermatozoa.

Mammalian spermatozoa, which like other living cells are susceptible to oxygen toxicity, generate increasing quantities of superoxide radical as epididymal maturation proceeds. This is associated with a concomitant reduction in the activity of superoxide dismutase. A possible involvement of superoxide radicals in bringing about some of the reported oxidative changes occurring during epididymal maturation of mammalian spermatozoa is discussed. It is suggested that superoxide radical may be involved in regulating membrane changes accompanying sperm maturation.

Animals