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Superoxide Radical and Superoxide Dismutases: Threat and Defense

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Autoxidation in Food and Biological Systems

Abstract

An enzymic flux of O −2 and H2O2 caused strand breaks in the supercoiled covalently closed circular Col El plasmid. Subnanomolar levels of superoxide dismutase or of catalase prevented this attack on DNA, signifying that both O −2 and H2O2 were required. Benzoate, mannitol or histidine, which do not scavenge O −2 and H2O2, also protected the DNA, suggesting that the proximate attacking species had a reactivity comparable to that of the hydroxyl radical. Replacing EDTA with diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid eliminated this attack. In toto the data suggest a metal-catalyzed interaction between O −2 and H2O2 which generates a potent oxidant, possibly OH·, which can cause DNA strand scission. The biological implications of the production and the enzymic scavenging of the superoxide radical are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, 27710, USA

    Karen Brawn & Irwin Fridovich

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  1. Karen Brawn
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  2. Irwin Fridovich
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Radiation Research, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C., USA

    Michael G. Simic

  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Marcus Karel

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Brawn, K., Fridovich, I. (1980). Superoxide Radical and Superoxide Dismutases: Threat and Defense. In: Simic, M.G., Karel, M. (eds) Autoxidation in Food and Biological Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9351-2_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9351-2_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9353-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9351-2

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