HEPARIN-AFFINITY PATTERNS AND COMPOSITION OF EXTRACELLULAR-SUPEROXIDEDISMUTASE IN HUMAN PLASMA AND TISSUES

The tetrameric extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) in human ti ssues and plasma has previously been found to be heterogenous with reg ard to heparin affinity and could be divided into at least three class es: A, lacking heparin affinity; B, with weak affinity; and C, with st rong affinity. Using rigorous extraction conditions and an extensive s et of anti-proteolytic agents, tissue EC-SOD is now shown to be almost exclusively of native homotetrameric C-class. Plasma EC-SOD on the ot her hand is shown to be mainly composed of a complex mixture of hetero tetramers with modifications probably residing in the C-terminal hepar in-binding domain. Proteolytic truncations appear to be a major cause of this heterogeneity. The findings suggest that, since 99 % of the EC -SOD in the human body exists in the extravascular space of tissues, E C-SOD is primarily synthesized in tissues and secreted as homotetramer ic native EC-SOD C. This tissue EC-SOD C should exist almost completel y sequestered by heparan sulphate proteoglycans. C-terminal modificati ons subsequently occurring in the EC-SOD C would weaken the binding to heparan sulphate proteoglycan, facilitate entrance to the vasculature through capillaries and lymph flow, and finally result in the heterog eneous plasma EC-SOD pattern. With the new extraction and analysis pro cedure, the tissue content of EC-SOD is found to be higher than previo usly reported. It is found, for example, when compared with Mn-SOD, to be higher in umbilical cord and uterus, about equal in placenta and t estis and as high as that of CuZn-SOD in umbilical cord. The findings suggest that the protection level against superoxide radicals provided by EC-SOD in the tissue interstitial space, given the small distribut ion volume, is not much less prominent than that bestowed on the intra cellular space by CuZn-SOD and Mn-SOD.