Case Adam J
Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 985850 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2017 Oct 30;6(4):82. doi: 10.3390/antiox6040082.
The field of free radical biology originated with the discovery of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in 1969. Over the last 5 decades, a plethora of research has been performed in species ranging from bacteria to mammals that has elucidated the molecular reaction, subcellular location, and specific isoforms of SOD. However, while humans have only begun to study this class of enzymes over the past 50 years, it has been estimated that these enzymes have existed for billions of years, and may be some of the original enzymes found in primitive life. As life evolved over this expanse of time, these enzymes have taken on new and different functional roles potentially in contrast to how they were originally derived. Herein, examination of the evolutionary history of these enzymes provides both an explanation and further inquiries into the modern-day role of SOD in physiology and disease.
自由基生物学领域起源于1969年超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）的发现。在过去的50年里，针对从细菌到哺乳动物等物种开展了大量研究，阐明了SOD的分子反应、亚细胞定位和特定同工型。然而，尽管人类在过去50年才开始研究这类酶，但据估计这些酶已经存在了数十亿年，可能是原始生命中最早发现的一些酶。随着生命在这段漫长时间里不断进化，这些酶可能承担了与最初来源不同的新功能角色。在此，对这些酶进化史的研究既为SOD在生理学和疾病中的现代作用提供了解释，也引发了进一步的探究。
