Overexpression of manganese-superoxide dismutase prevents methylmercury toxicity in HeLa cells

HeLa cells were stably transformed with plasmid constructs that allowed constitutive expression of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) or Mn-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) to examine the involvement of reactive oxygen generatio...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Life sciences (1973) 1998-02, Vol.62 (12), p.PL 159-PL 161
Main Authors: Naganuma, A, Miura, K, Tanaka-Kagawa, T, Kitahara, J, Seko, Y, Toyoda, H, Imura, N
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:HeLa cells were stably transformed with plasmid constructs that allowed constitutive expression of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) or Mn-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) to examine the involvement of reactive oxygen generation in methylmercury toxicity. Overexpression of catalase, GSH-Px or Cu,Zn-SOD did not affect the sensitivity of HeLa cells against methylmercury. However, the sensitivity of HeLa cells against methylmercury was decreased by overexpression of Mn-SOD, an enzyme localized in matrix of mitochondria and which decomposes superoxide anions. These results suggest that formation of superoxide anions in the mitochondria might be involved in the mechanism of the cytotoxicity of methylmercury.
ISSN:0024-3205