Aging of the erythrocyte. X. Immunoelectrophoretic studies on the denaturation of superoxide dismutase

Conformational Stability and Denaturation Processes of Proteins Investigated by Electrophoresis under Extreme Conditions

The functional structure of proteins results from marginally stable folded conformations. Reversible unfolding, irreversible denaturation, and deterioration can be caused by chemical and physical agents due to changes in the physicochemical conditions of pH, ionic strength, temperature, pressure, and electric field or due to the presence of a cosolvent that perturbs the delicate balance between stabilizing and destabilizing interactions and eventually induces chemical modifications. For most proteins, denaturation is a complex process involving transient intermediates in several reversible and eventually irreversible steps. Knowledge of protein stability and denaturation processes is mandatory for the development of enzymes as industrial catalysts, biopharmaceuticals, analytical and medical bioreagents, and safe industrial food. Electrophoresis techniques operating under extreme conditions are convenient tools for analyzing unfolding transitions, trapping transient intermediates, and gaining insight into the mechanisms of denaturation processes. Moreover, quantitative analysis of electrophoretic mobility transition curves allows the estimation of the conformational stability of proteins. These approaches include polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and capillary zone electrophoresis under cold, heat, and hydrostatic pressure and in the presence of non-ionic denaturing agents or stabilizers such as polyols and heavy water. Lastly, after exposure to extremes of physical conditions, electrophoresis under standard conditions provides information on irreversible processes, slow conformational drifts, and slow renaturation processes. The impressive developments of enzyme technology with multiple applications in fine chemistry, biopharmaceutics, and nanomedicine prompted us to revisit the potentialities of these electrophoretic approaches. This feature review is illustrated with published and unpublished results obtained by the authors on cholinesterases and paraoxonase, two physiologically and toxicologically important enzymes.

Understanding quasi-apoptosis of the most numerous enucleated components of blood needs detailed molecular autopsy

Erythrocytes are the most numerous cells in human body and their function of oxygen transport is pivotal to human physiology. However, being enucleated, they are often referred to as a sac of molecules and their cellularity is challenged. Interestingly, their programmed death stands a testimony to their cell-hood. They are capable of self-execution after a defined life span by both cell-specific mechanism and that resembling the cytoplasmic events in apoptosis of nucleated cells. Since the execution process lacks the nuclear and mitochondrial events in apoptosis, it has been referred to as quasi-apoptosis or eryptosis. Several studies on molecular mechanisms underlying death of erythrocytes have been reported. The data has generated a non-cohesive sketch of the process. The lacunae in the present knowledge need to be filled to gain deeper insight into the mechanism of physiological ageing and death of erythrocytes, as well as the effect of age of organism on RBCs survival. This would entail how the most numerous cells in the human body die and enable a better understanding of signaling mechanisms of their senescence and premature eryptosis observed in individuals of advanced age.

The superoxide dismutase activities of cerebral tissues, assayed by the chemiluminescence method, in the gerbil focal ischemia/reperfusion and global ischemia models

Superoxide dismutase is well known to act as an effective antioxidant enzyme against cellular damage caused by oxidative stresses including ischemia/reperfusion-induced cerebral injury. However, it is still controversial whether or not the activity of endogenous superoxide dismutase changes during cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. In order to elucidate this phenomenon, we assayed the superoxide dismutase activity in the cerebral tissues of gerbils using the chemiluminescence method with a Cypridina luciferin analog. This method was demonstrated to be a sensitive and specific assay for the enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase in cerebral tissues, which was not subject to interference from proteins or ascorbate. After 3 h of focal and global ischemia, there were no changes in the cerebral tissue superoxide dismutase activities. After 24 h of reperfusion following 1 h of ischemia, the superoxide dismutase activity decreased only approx 20%, whereas the adenylate kinase activities, measured in the same cerebral tissues as those used for superoxide dismutase assay, started to decline 1 h after reperfusion commenced and were approx 50% of the control levels after 24 h. These results show that almost all the activity of endogenous superoxide dismutase is maintained and does not decrease significantly as a result of ischemia/reperfusion-induced cerebral injury.

Detection of heterogeneity of Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase with monoclonal antibodies and the establishment of a highly sensitive fluorescence sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Murine monoclonal antibodies directed against a native form of Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) were produced by immunizing SOD purified from human erythrocytes. The monoclonal antibodies able to bind SOD were further screened for their ability to absorb SOD activity using anti-mouse IgG conjugated iron beads as solid supports in magnetic separation. This new screening method revealed the heterogeneity of native SOD in the reactivity with the antibodies. One monoclonal antibody successfully absorbed the entire activity of SOD detected by an inhibition assay of cypridina luciferin analog (MCLA)-dependent chemiluminescence induced by superoxide anion production, while other absorbed only a part of the SOD activity. The evidence that all of the latter antibodies failed to react with recombinant artificial SOD free of charge isomers suggested correlation of the heterogeneity with the presence of charge isomeric forms. The former antibody was further used to establish a fluorescence sandwich enzyme immunoassay, and this assay provided a very sensitive detection limit as low as 100 pg/ml.

Reduced superoxide dismutase activity in xeroderma pigmentosum fibroblasts

This study was performed in order to assess the possible protective effect of superoxide dismutase (SOD) on ultraviolet (UV) damage in xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) fibroblasts. SOD activity in fibroblasts originating from seven xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) patients was significantly lower than that in normal cells (p less than 0.005). Average SOD activity in XP cells belonging to complementation group A was 3.68 +/- 0.54 (n = 7) and that in normal human cells was 5.79 +/- 1.59 (n = 6). Addition of SOD before and during UV irradiation (UVB and UVC) to the cells caused no change in the amount of unscheduled DNA synthesis and UV survival. A possible involvement of reduced SOD in XP and a possible protective effect by SOD on UV damage is discussed.

Aspects of the structure, function, and applications of superoxide dismutase

The current status of superoxide dismutase (SOD) is that it is an enzyme with diverse ramifications. This review attempts an understanding of SOD as a structural, functional, and biological entity. Accordingly, the review is in three parts. The first part discusses SOD in terms of protein structure, proceeding from primary to secondary and three-dimensional structure for the three forms of SOD: copper/zinc SOD, manganese SOD, and iron SOD. This is the order of structural knowledge of the enzyme. Iron SOD is an enzyme of prokaryotes and some higher plants. Manganese SOD is an enzyme of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Copper/zinc SOD is an enzyme of eukaryotes and certain prokaryotes. The evolutionary relationships of the three forms of SOD, the status of the copper/zinc SOD gene in prokaryotes, and the cloning and sequencing of SOD genes are discussed. The second part of the review deals with the catalytic mechanism of SOD in the three forms of the enzyme. Structural and mechanistic conclusions from various spectroscopic studies are critically considered. A detailed picture is given of the active site of copper/zinc SOD. The third part is a review of SOD in the general context of oxygen toxicity. After consideration of the question of superoxide toxicity and superoxide pathology, several areas in which SOD has been investigated or used as a tool in a biochemical, pharmacological, or clinical context are discussed, including population genetics; trisomy 21; development and senescence; the nutritional copper, zinc, and manganese status; hemolysis and anemia; oxygen toxicity in the lung and nervous system; inflammation, autoimmune disease and chromosome breakage, ischemia and degenerative changes; radiation damage; and malignancy. A comprehensive picture is given of measurements of SOD activity in disease states, and the question of superoxide-related disease is considered at several points.

Human erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity during deep diving

As the practical use of high pressure oxygen (HPO) in clinical medicine and the offshore industries accelerates, knowledge of its toxic nature becomes essential. In this study, divers' erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was monitored during high pressure exposure and shown to decrease on average by 20% at depths greater than 150 m. Assay of total red cell SOD protein and activity established that the recorded SOD activity decrement was by loss of immuno-measurable enzyme. No evidence of intra-cellular Heinz bodies was observed. An increase of intra-membrane lipid peroxidation products, within physiological limits, was found, particularly in the denser cell fractions. Using previously in vivo pressure stressed cells, experiments at increasing O2 pressures educed that human red blood cells were oxygen "resistant" up to ten times the normal atmospheric pressure, 0.021 MPa (0.21 bar). Thereafter, a loss in SOD enzyme activity occurred with hemolysis during the in vitro decompression procedure.

Reevaluation of assay methods and establishment of kit for superoxide dismutase activity

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was measured by seven assay methods. The nitrite method was found to be the best for our SOD assay kit. This method was then modified to give better sensitivity and minimize interference by coexisting protein, a factor which has been previously ignored. Hydroxylamine or its O-sulfonic acid, xanthine oxidase, hypoxanthine, EDTA, and the sample were incubated with or without KCN at pH 8.2, 37 degrees C, for 30 min. Diazo dye-forming reagent was added and the absorption was measured at 550 nm. Human plasma and erythrocyte lysate from healthy adults and Down's syndrome patients were assayed by this SOD kit and by the cytochrome c method. Our kit gave 8.5 times higher sensitivity than the cytochrome c method. This high sensitivity allowed the use of a simple spectrophotometer and, moreover, only one dilution was needed to determine the SOD unit with the help of our formulas. Good recovery, reproducibility, and stability of reagents were demonstrated.

Erythrocuprein (Cu2Zn2 superoxide dismutase) is the major copper protein of the red blood cell

The copper balance in the red blood cell deserved special attention as the exact amount of copper being bound in erythrocuprein (Cu2Zn2 superoxide dismutase) is poorly understood. An improved aqueous isolation of erythrocuprein revealed that essentially all erythrocyte copper is found in this protein. This fact is supported by both superoxide dismutase activity measurements of the haemolysate and EPR-quantification studies throughout the course of the isolation.

Immunoelectrophoretic study of the effect of radiation on protein mixtures

This paper demonstrates the suitability of immunoelectrophoretic methods in studies of radiation effects on protein mixtures. Single serum proteins (IgG, albumin, transferrin), albumin-transferrin mixtures and human serum were irradiated with doses of 3-52 kGy. The irradiated proteins were analysed using rocket-, crossed-, crossed-with-intermediate-gel, and fused-rocket immunoelectrophoretic methods. Using crossed immunoelectrophoresis with intermediate gel, complex formation between albumin and transferrin was observed. Gel filtration monitored by fused-rocket immunoelectrophoresis was demonstrated to be a most promising method for studying protein degradation and hybrid formation.

Aging of the erythrocyte--XVII. Changes in the properties of superoxide dismutase

1. An increase in the sensitivity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) to the action of diethyldithio-carbamate and cyanide was observed in red cell fractions of greater age. 2. It suggests that SOD inactivation during erythrocyte aging is not an "all or none" process but involves transition(s) between enzyme forms of different properties. 3. An increase in the ratio of less mobile to the more mobile SOD bands was observed by polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoresis in older erythrocytes.