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Biomedical subjects

I Fridovich

Publications and source records attributed to I Fridovich.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

Induction of superoxide dismutases in Escherichia coli by manganese and iron.

Growth of Escherichia coli B in simple media enriched with Mn(II) resulted in the elevation of the manganese-containing superoxide dismutase, whereas growth in such medium enriched with iron caused increased content of the iron-containing superoxide dismutase. Enrichment of the medium with Co(II), Cu(II), Mo(VI), Zn(II), or Ni(II) had no effect. The inductions of superoxide dismutase by Mn(II) or by Fe(II) were dioxygen dependent, but these metals did not affect the CN- -resistant respiration of E. coli B and did not influence the increase in the CN- -resistant respiration caused by paraquat. Mn(II) and paraquat acted synergistically in elevating the superoxide dismutase content, and Mn(II) reduced the growth inhibition imposed by paraquat, E. coli grown in the complex 3% Trypticase soy broth (BBL Microbiology Systems)-0.5% yeast extract-0.2% glucose medium contained more superoxide dismutase than did cells grown in the simple media and were less responsive to enrichment of the medium with Mn(II) or Fe(II). Nevertheless, in the presence of paraquat, inductions of superoxide dismutase by these metals could be seen even in the Trypticase-yeast extract-glucose medium. On the basis of these observations we propose that the apo-superoxide dismutases may act as autogenous repressors and that Mn(II) and Fe(II) increase the cell content of the corresponding enzymes by speeding the conversion of the apo- to the holoenzymes.

Culture Media↗

The toxicology of molecular oxygen.

Molecular oxygen, itself not very reactive, can be converted by photosensitization to electronically excited singlet states, and by partial reduction to the superoxide and hydroxyl free radicals and to hydrogen peroxide. The very considerable toxicity of oxygen, which is due primarily to the properties of these derivatives, is ordinarily overlooked because aerobes have evolved an elaborate system of defenses which is reasonably adequate under ambient conditions. This toxicity becomes all too apparent when these defenses are overwhelmed at elevated pO2 or through the action of compounds which increase the conversion of oxygen to its more reactive derivatives. We will here consider the threat posed by oxygen and the defenses which make aerobic life possible.

Aging↗

Inhibition and reactivation of Mn-catalase. Implications for valence changes at the active site manganese.

The Mn-catalase of Lactobacillus plantarum was inactivated when exposed to NH2OH plus H2O2, an effect which was not reversed by dialysis. N-Methylhydroxylamine was approximately 1% as effective as was NH2OH, while O-methylhydroxylamine was not detectably active in this regard. Approximately 40% of the lost activity could be restored by dithionite or by O-2, whereas other reductants such as ethanol, ascorbate, or nitrite were without effect. Oxidants such as persulfate and ferricyanide also failed to reactivate the enzyme. The active enzyme was inactivated, to an apparent limit of 50%, by an enzymic or photochemical flux of O-2 and this was entirely prevented by superoxide dismutase. The catalytic cycle of the enzyme is thought to involve the trivalent and pentavalent forms of the active site Mn; while inactivation by H2O2 + NH2OH appears to be due to conversion to the quadrivalent state. Partial bleaching of the enzyme by H2O2 and the nearly complete bleaching caused by NH2OH + H2O2 are in accord with this interpretation. The enzyme was unaffected by 2.0 mM EDTA, thiourea, o-phenanthroline, alpha, alpha'-dipyridyl, 8-hydroxyquinoline, diethyldithiocarbamate, thiourea, hydrazine, phenylhydrazine, isoniazid, semicarbazide, sulfite, nitrite, or sulfide, all at pH 7.0.

Binding Sites↗

Isolation and characterization of the pseudocatalase of Lactobacillus plantarum.

The nonheme, or pseudo, catalase of Lactobacillus plantarum has been purified to homogeneity. This enzyme is pink in concentrated solutions and has a molecular weight of 172,000 +/- 4,000. It is composed of six noncovalently associated subunits of molecular weight 28,300 +/- 600. This pseudocatalase contains 1.12 +/- 0.37 atoms of manganese per subunit. Fe, Co, Cu, and Zn, if present at all, were at less than 0.1 atom per subunit. At pH 7.0 and at 25 degrees C the Km for H2O2 is 250 mM and the turnover number at Vm was 3.9 x 10(5) mol of H2O2 per mol of enzyme per s. The optical spectrum of pseudocatalase is similar to that of the manganese superoxide dismutase and indicates the presence of Mn(III) in the resting enzyme. Pseudocatalase does not exhibit superoxide dismutase activity nor does the manganese-containing superoxide dismutase exhibit catalase activity. This pseudocatalase is stable to freezing and thawing and lost only 40% of its activity when heated to 80 degrees C for 5 min. Strains of L. plantarum which contain pseudocatalase did not accumulate H2O2 in the growth medium.

Amino Acids↗

Superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and oxygen toxicity in two free-living nematode species.

Two species of free-living nematodes, Turbatrix aceti and Caenorhabditis elegans, exhibited a marked sensitivity to 3 atm of 100% O2. Environmental changes in pH and temperature, which altered nematode respiration, resulted in alterations in the survival of these organisms under high pO2. Levels of defensive enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and dianisidine peroxidase were measured in the two species. No changes in the level of superoxide dismutase or catalase activity were induced by exposure of the nematodes to high pO2. Manipulation of these two enzymes was however achieved using the inhibitors 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole and diethyldithiocarbamate. 3-Amino-1,2,4-triazole (20 mM) eliminated greater than or equal to 80% of the catalase activity in vivo and diethyldithiocarbamate (5 mM) decreased the level of CuZn superoxide dismutase by greater than or equal to 70%. Both of these compounds increased the sensitivity of C. elegans to high pO2 toxicity. Compounds capable of intracellular redox-cycling with O2- -production, such as plumbagin, increased CN- -resistant respiration in the nematodes and imposed an O2-dependent toxicity. These experiments demonstrate the toxicity of intracellular O2- and H2O2 in nematodes and the importance of superoxide dismutase and catalase in providing a defense against these toxic molecules in vivo.

Animals↗

Positive correlation between superoxide dismutase and resistance to paraquat toxicity in the green alga Chlorella sorokiniana.

Paraquat (10-30 microM) exerted a dose-dependent and light-dependent toxicity on Chlorella sorokiniana. Paraquat was also seen to increase the superoxide dismutase content of these cells and to cause the appearance of a new electrophoretically distinct isozyme. Cells grown in the absence of paraquat contained one manganese-superoxide dismutase and two iron-superoxide dismutases, while the paraquat-grown cells contained an additional manganese-superoxide dismutase. Cells which were grown in the presence of 25 microM Paraquat, and which therefore possessed elevated levels of superoxide dismutase, were resistant to 30 microM Paraquat, whereas control cells were bleached and killed by this level of Paraquat. Electron micrography and chemical analysis revealed that Paraquat decreased the starch content of the cells and caused a failure of dividing cells to separate. It appears that Paraquat increases the photoproduction of O2- in C. sorokiniana and that an increase in the cell content of superoxide dismutase is an adaptive response which provides protection against this herbicide.

Cell Division↗

Electrostatic facilitation of the reaction catalyzed by the manganese-containing and the iron-containing superoxide dismutases.

Both the iron-containing and the manganese-containing superoxide dismutases from Escherichia coli show diminished activity with increasing ionic strength, indicative of electrostatic facilitation of the catalyzed reaction. Since both enzymes bear a net negative charge at the assay pH, as does the substrate, this suggests a cationic locale in the active site region. Acetylation of the enzymes inverted their response to increasing ionic strength. It thus appears that lysine residues provide the observed electrostatic facilitation. A specific inhibition by large monovalent anions was observed with the iron-containing superoxide dismutase and was taken to indicate the presence of a cationic group, within a hydrophobic crevice, at the active site.

Acetylation↗

Functional significance of manganese catalase in Lactobacillus plantarum.

A strain of Lactobacillus plantarum which was unable to produce manganese (Mn)catalase (ATCC 8014) grew somewhat more rapidly and to a slightly higher plateau density than did an Mn catalase-positive strain (ATCC 14421), and this was the case during aerobic or anaerobic growth. However, when maintenance of viability was measured during the stationary phase of the growth cycle, the advantage provided by Mn catalase was obvious. Thus, the viability of ATCC 14431 was undiminished over 21 h of aerobic incubation, during the stationary phase, whereas that of ATCC 8014 decreased by seven orders of magnitude. Addition of catalase to the medium or growth in the presence of hemin, which allows catalase synthesis, protected ATCC 8014 against this loss of viability. Suppression of Mn catalase within ATCC 14431 by treatment with NH2OH caused the cells to lose viability when exposed to 4 mM H2O2.

Catalase↗

Electrostatic interactions in the reaction mechanism of bovine erythrocyte superoxide dismutase.

The activity of the copper- and zinc-containing superoxide dismutase decreased with increasing ionic strength. Modification of lysine residues by acetylation or succinylation inverted the effect of increasing ionic strength, whereas modification of arginine with phenylglyoxal did not. These results were noted in both photochemical and pulse-radiolysis assays. It appears that interaction of O2- with the anionic enzyme is assisted by the positive charge on lysine residues, presumably those close to the active site. By the criterion of responsiveness to ionic strength, the arginine residue close to the active site does not appear to provide electrostatic facilitation to the catalytic process. Elimination of the charge on epsilon-amino groups by raising the pH suppressed activity to the same extent as did elimination of these charges by acetylation. Activity was similarly suppressed to the same extent by covalent modification or by ionization of arginine residues, indicating that the positive charge on arginine is important for the catalytic process even though its effect is not responsive to changes in the ionic strength of the solution.

Amino Acids↗

Superoxide radical inhibits catalase.

Catalase was inhibited by a flux of O2- generated in situ by the aerobic xanthine oxidase reaction. Two distinct types of inhibition could be distinguished. One of these was rapidly established and could be as rapidly reversed by the addition of superoxide dismutase. The second developed slowly and was reversed by ethanol, but not by superoxide dismutase. The rapid inhibition was probably due to conversion of catalase to the ferrooxy state (compound III), while the slow inhibition was due to conversion to the ferryl state (compound II). Since neither compound III nor compound II occurs in the catalatic reaction pathway, they are inactive. This inhibition of catalase by O2- provides the basis for a synergism between superoxide dismutase and catalase. Such synergisms have been observed in vitro and may be significant in vivo.

Acetaldehyde↗

Oxygen toxicity in Streptococcus sanguis. The relative importance of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals.

Streptococcus sanguis, whose growth appears to be independent of the availability of iron, makes no hemes, contains neither catalase nor peroxidase, and can accumulate millimolar concentration levels of H2O2 during aerobic growth. It possesses a single manganese-containing superoxide dismutase whose concentration can be varied over a 50-100-fold range by manipulating the availability of oxygen during growth. Cell extracts contain a soluble NADH-plumbagin diaphorase which mediates O2- production in vitro and presumably also in vivo. Plumbagin increased oxygen consumption by S. sanguis and imposed an oxygen-dependent toxicity. Cells grown aerobically and containing elevated levels of superoxide dismutase were resistant to this toxicity. Dimethyl sulfoxide, which was shown to permeate S. sanguis freely, was used as an indicating scavenger of OH. An in vitro enzymic source of O2- plus H2O2 generated formaldehyde from dimethyl sulfoxide, an indication of OH. production. Either superoxide dismutase or catalase inhibited this OH. production and iron salts augmented it. Intact, aerobic cells of S. sanguis also gave evidence of OH. production, in the presence of plumbagin, but all of it appeared to be generated outside the cells. In addition, 0.5 M dimethyl sulfoxide did not diminish the oxygen-dependent toxicity of plumbagin. We conclude that, in S. sanguis, O2- can exert a toxic effect independent of the production of OH..

Dimethyl Sulfoxide↗