Heparin-induced release of extracellular superoxide dismutase to human blood plasma.

Extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD) has previously been shown to be the major SOD isoenzyme in extracellular fluids. Upon chromatography on heparin-Sepharose it was separated into three fractions: A, without affinity; B, with intermediate affinity; and C, with relatively strong heparin affinity. Intravenous injection of heparin leads to a prompt increase in plasma extracellular-superoxide-dismutase (EC-SOD) activity. Heparin induces no release of EC-SOD from blood cells, nor does it activate EC-SOD in plasma, indicating that the source of the released enzyme is the endothelial-cell surfaces. No distinct saturation could be demonstrated in a dose-response curve up to 200 i.u. of heparin per kg body weight, showing that the releasing potency of heparin is lower for EC-SOD than for previously investigated heparin-released factors. Chromatography of human plasma on heparin-Sepharose shows nearly equal amounts of EC-SOD fractions A, B and C. Heparin induces specifically the release of fraction C. The findings point to the existence of an equilibrium of EC-SOD fraction C between the plasma phase and endothelial-cell surfaces. The major part of EC-SOD in the vasculature seems to be located on endothelial-cell surfaces.