Abstract
Antioxidant enzymes maintain cellular redox homeostasis. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), an enzyme located in mitochondria, is the key enzyme that protects the energy-generating mitochondria from oxidative damage. Levels of MnSOD are reduced in many diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and psoriasis. Overexpression of MnSOD in tumor cells can significantly attenuate the malignant phenotype. Past studies have reported that this enzyme has the potential to be used as an anti-inflammatory agent because of its superoxide anion scavenging ability. Superoxide anions have a proinflammatory role in many diseases. Treatment of a rat model of lung pleurisy with the MnSOD mimetic MnTBAP suppressed the inflammatory response in a dose-dependent manner. In this paper, the mechanisms underlying the suppressive effects of MnSOD in inflammatory diseases are studied, and the potential applications of this enzyme and its mimetics as anti-inflammatory agents are discussed.
Highlights
Aerobic organisms utilize molecular oxygen as the final electron receptor in the oxidative phosphorylation electron transport chain
O2 is reduced to H2O after receiving four electrons; partial reduction of O2 leads to the formation of highly reactive oxygen species (ROS), including the superoxide anion (O2−·), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and the hydroxyl radical (OH·)
To confront oxidative stress caused by ROS, organisms have evolved a variety of antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase
Summary
Aerobic organisms utilize molecular oxygen (dioxygen; O2) as the final electron receptor in the oxidative phosphorylation electron transport chain. To confront oxidative stress caused by ROS, organisms have evolved a variety of antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase. ROS can act as cell signaling molecules and cause damage to foreign bodies [2]. A large body of evidence suggests that antioxidant enzymes are key regulators of inflammation. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) is an enzyme present in mitochondria that is one of the first in a chain of enzymes to mediate the ROS generated by the partial reduction of O2. MnSOD has been implicated in a number of oxidative stress-related diseases. We will discuss the role of MnSOD in various inflammation-associated diseases and explore the therapeutic potentials of agents that regulate its expression
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