Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Anatomy / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was determined in three kiwifruit (Actinidia) species including A. deliciosa, A. chinensis, and A. arguta. Among the species tested, the highest SOD activity was found in crude extracts prepared from fruit tissues of A. deliciosa. The highest enzyme activity was localized in seed, followed by locules, core and outer pericarp (OP). SOD activity in crude extract of whole fruit remained stable for at least one month when stored at -20℃. The effect of synthetic protease inhibitors (PI) on SOD activity was investigated. Supplementing crude kiwifruit extracts with PI improved SOD activity in freshly prepared extracts, and in extracts stored at 4℃, but had no effect on those stored at -20℃. Among the PI used, iodoacetamide (an inhibitor of cysteine proteases, for example, actinidin which is a principal protease found in kiwifruit) and PMSF (an inhibitor of serine proteases), had the most and least influence on SOD activity in crude kiwifruit extracts, respectively. There was a significant increase in SOD activity in kiwifruit (that were relatively firm) when the fruits were stored at low temperature (4℃). An increase in SOD activity was also correlated with a decrease in fruit firmness. Staining fruit tissues with nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) provided evidence for stress-induced superoxide generation in kiwifruit tissues. Taken together, the changes in SOD activity and the capacity for stress-inducible superoxide production in post-harvest kiwifruit suggest that SOD might play a fundamental role in the storage life/ripening of kiwifruit.

No description available.

No description available.

In this work, the chemical preparation and characterization of an isotopically enriched superoxide dismutase (SOD) is described. Its evaluation as a standard in species-specific isotope dilution analysis by HPLC coupled to ICP-MS is carefully evaluated. The proposed method involved the removal of the enzyme's metal co-factors under various conditions and their replacement with isotopically enriched ⁶⁵Cu and ⁶⁸Zn. SEC-ICP-MS showed that the prepared enriched enzymes had a different metal isotopic abundance compared to the wild-type enzyme. Isotopically enriched and wild-type SOD showed the same migration pattern in 1D-PAGE. An enzyme activity assay provided evidence that incorporated ⁶⁵Cu was bound to the correct SOD-binding motif, since the measured activity correlated directly with the amount of Cu present in the prepared enzyme. The addition of free Cu and Zn or a metal chelator did not result in any exchange or loss of metals from the enzyme at neutral pH. Striking experiments were undertaken to evaluate the use of isotopically enriched SOD in SS-IDMS. The chemical preparation study on SOD was further extended to prepare various other isotopically enriched metalloproteins, including carbonic anhydrase, ceruloplasmin, transferring and haemoglobin. Various enrichment procedures were conducted and their performances then evaluated, using SEC-ICP-MS and protein assays. A procedure for the quantification of SOD in tissue samples using an isotopically enriched SOD spike in combination with 2-dimensional HPLC and SS-IDMS was developed and assessed. The feasibility of employing isotopically enriched protein spikes for the speciation of metalloproteins by utilising gel electrophoresis and LA-ICP-MS was also investigated. Furthermore, the change of the iron speciation of the meat-containing protein myoglobin after various treatments was examined using a combination of SEC-ICP-MS and ESI-MS.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent cancers in Taiwan. Copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) is widely distributed and comprises 90% of the total superoxide dismutase (SOD), which catalyzes the conversion of superoxide to hydrogen peroxide. Reduced expression of antioxidant enzymes, particularly SOD1, has been identified in human hepatoma specimens and cell lines. However, it remains unclear how SOD1 expression affected the tumorigenic processes of hepatoma cells. Expression analysis of an array of human HCC cell lines revealed that SOD1 protein levels were down regulated in poorly differentiated SK-Hep-1 cells. Adenovirus-mediated SOD1 expression increased the SOD1 protein level by 30-40% of control. In addition, SOD1 gene transfer decreased the cellular O2 ¡V level yet increased the H2O2 production. SOD1 overexpression significantly reduced the proliferation, motility, and anchorage-independent growth of SK-Hep-1 cells, but had no effect on the secretion of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9. SOD1 restoration inhibited the proliferation of SK-Hep-1 cells through induction of cell cycle arrest, which was associated with decreased expression of cyclin A, cyclin D1, cdk1, cdk4 and upregulation of p21Cip1 and p27kip1. Besides, SOD1 overexpression also inhibited the nuclear factor £e B (NF-£eB) activities, thereby attenuating the proliferation and migration of SK-Hep-1 cells. In conclusion, SOD1 restoration attenuated the tumorigenicity of hepatoma cells.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating, progressive, and fatal neurodegenerative disease. Despite the fact that ALS is the most common motor neuron disease in adulthood, there is no effective treatment for the disease. Although most ALS cases (90-95%) are sporadic (sALS), the remaining cases (5-10%) are dominantly inherited and referred to as familial ALS (fALS). Because sALS and fALS show indistinguishable disease symptoms, a common disease mechanism has been proposed. After the discovery of the link between fALS and mutants of cytosolic Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1), over 140 mutations in SOD1 have been identified to account for ~20% of fALS. The location of these mutants are scattered throughout the primary and tertiary structures of the protein. It is widely accepted that fALS-linked mutations in SOD1 result in a gain of toxic function to cause the disease, rather than a loss of physiological function, although the nature of the toxic mechanism remains unclear. SOD1 is a -rich, homodimeric metalloenzyme that catalyzes the dismutation of superoxide radicals to O2 and H2O2. The protein is ubiquitously expressed and the mature form of SOD1 (holo SOD1) contains one catalytic Cu ion, one structural Zn ion, one intra-molecular disulfide bond (between C57 and C146) and two free Cys residues (C6 and C111) per 153 residue subunit. Analogous to many different human diseases in which protein aggregation is a hallmark, aggregation of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) is implicated in the pathogenesis of ALS. This thesis reports the first observation of aggregation of the most abundant form of SOD1 in vivo, the native, metallated (holo) dimer, under physiologically relevant conditions (37 °C and pH 7.8). The medical relevance of aggregates is demonstrated by structural and tinctorial analyses as well as the novel observation of binding of an anti-SOD1 antibody that specifically recognizes pathological aggregates in ALS. Additionally, ALS-associated SOD1 mutations promote aggregation but are not required, supporting a common mechanism in familial and sporadic ALS. The aggregation is characterized by a lag phase, which is diminished by self- and cross-seeding where heterogeneous nucleation is the underlying mechanism. Moreover, multiple pathways of aggregation are elucidated including dimer dissociation and metal loss. It is shown that if holo SOD1 loses more Zn ions than Cu ions, the aggregation profiles have shorter duration and lower final intensity, whereas when holo SOD1 loses more Cu ions than Zn ions, the aggregation profiles have longer duration and higher intensity. Taken together, the data in this thesis establish a valuable system for understanding SOD1 aggregation and toxicity mechanisms which can be used for developing therapeutic strategies targeting protein aggregation.

Thesis (M.Med.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-86).

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating, progressive, and fatal neurodegenerative disease. Despite the fact that ALS is the most common motor neuron disease in adulthood, there is no effective treatment for the disease. Although most ALS cases (90-95%) are sporadic (sALS), the remaining cases (5-10%) are dominantly inherited and referred to as familial ALS (fALS). Because sALS and fALS show indistinguishable disease symptoms, a common disease mechanism has been proposed. After the discovery of the link between fALS and mutants of cytosolic Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1), over 140 mutations in SOD1 have been identified to account for ~20% of fALS. The location of these mutants are scattered throughout the primary and tertiary structures of the protein. It is widely accepted that fALS-linked mutations in SOD1 result in a gain of toxic function to cause the disease, rather than a loss of physiological function, although the nature of the toxic mechanism remains unclear. SOD1 is a -rich, homodimeric metalloenzyme that catalyzes the dismutation of superoxide radicals to O2 and H2O2. The protein is ubiquitously expressed and the mature form of SOD1 (holo SOD1) contains one catalytic Cu ion, one structural Zn ion, one intra-molecular disulfide bond (between C57 and C146) and two free Cys residues (C6 and C111) per 153 residue subunit. Analogous to many different human diseases in which protein aggregation is a hallmark, aggregation of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) is implicated in the pathogenesis of ALS. This thesis reports the first observation of aggregation of the most abundant form of SOD1 in vivo, the native, metallated (holo) dimer, under physiologically relevant conditions (37 °C and pH 7.8). The medical relevance of aggregates is demonstrated by structural and tinctorial analyses as well as the novel observation of binding of an anti-SOD1 antibody that specifically recognizes pathological aggregates in ALS. Additionally, ALS-associated SOD1 mutations promote aggregation but are not required, supporting a common mechanism in familial and sporadic ALS. The aggregation is characterized by a lag phase, which is diminished by self- and cross-seeding where heterogeneous nucleation is the underlying mechanism. Moreover, multiple pathways of aggregation are elucidated including dimer dissociation and metal loss. It is shown that if holo SOD1 loses more Zn ions than Cu ions, the aggregation profiles have shorter duration and lower final intensity, whereas when holo SOD1 loses more Cu ions than Zn ions, the aggregation profiles have longer duration and higher intensity. Taken together, the data in this thesis establish a valuable system for understanding SOD1 aggregation and toxicity mechanisms which can be used for developing therapeutic strategies targeting protein aggregation.