SOD1 is an essential H₂S detoxifying enzyme

Although hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is an endogenous signaling molecule with antioxidant properties, it is also cytotoxic by potently inhibiting cytochrome c oxidase and mitochondrial respiration. Paradoxically, the primary route of H₂S detoxification is thought to occur inside the mitochondrial matrix via a series of relatively slow enzymatic reactions that are unlikely to compete with its rapid inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase. Therefore, alternative or complementary cellular mechanisms of H₂S detoxification are predicted to exist. Here, superoxide dismutase [Cu-Zn] (SOD1) is shown to be an efficient H₂S oxidase that has an essential role in limiting cytotoxicity from endogenous and exogenous sulfide. Decreased SOD1 expression resulted in increased sensitivity to H₂S toxicity in yeast and human cells, while increased SOD1 expression enhanced tolerance to H₂S. SOD1 rapidly converted H₂S to sulfate under conditions of limiting sulfide; however, when sulfide was in molar excess, SOD1 catalyzed the formation of per- and polysulfides, which induce cellular thiol oxidation. Furthermore, in SOD1-deficient cells, elevated levels of reactive oxygen species catalyzed sulfide oxidation to per- and polysulfides. These data reveal that a fundamental function of SOD1 is to regulate H₂S and related reactive sulfur species.