Differential decrease of copper content and of copper binding to superoxide dismutase in liver, heart and brain of
L Rossi1, M R Ciriolo, E Marchese
1Department of Biology, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy.
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
|September 15, 1994
Abstract:
Dietary copper-deficiency in rats produced a organ-specific decrease of copper content. This was paralleled by a decrease of the activity of the copper-enzyme superoxide dismutase. In liver such a decrease is partially due to the existence of an apo-form of superoxide dismutase, which can be reactivated by addition of exogenous copper to tissue extracts. These results demonstrate in vivo that superoxide dismutase is post-translationally modulated by copper in higher vertebrates as previously found for yeast and mammalian cells in culture.
