Le Trant N, Meshnick S R, Kitchener K, Eaton J W, Cerami A
J Biol Chem. 1983 Jan 10;258(1):125-30.
Leishmania tropica, Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi, and Crithidia fasciculata have superoxide dismutases which are insensitive to cyanide and sensitive to peroxide and azide, properties characteristic of iron-containing superoxide dismutase. Studies on the superoxide dismutase of C. fasciculata have revealed that: 1) the enzyme is located in the cytosol; 2) isozymes exist; 3) the major superoxide dismutase isozyme (superoxide dismutase 2) has Mr approximately equal to 43,000 and consists of two equal-sized subunits, each of which contains 1.4 atoms of iron. Comparisons of the amino acid content of this crithidial superoxide dismutase with those of superoxide dismutases from other sources suggests that the crithidial enzyme is closely related to bacterial Fe-containing superoxide dismutases, and only distantly related to human Mn- and Cu,Zn-containing superoxide dismutases and to Euglena Fe-containing superoxide dismutase. Attempts are now underway to develop specific inhibitors of the trypanosomatid superoxide dismutase which may be of use in the treatment of leishmaniasis or trypanosomiasis.
热带利什曼原虫、布氏锥虫、克氏锥虫和束状短膜虫都含有对氰化物不敏感但对过氧化物和叠氮化物敏感的超氧化物歧化酶，这些特性是含铁超氧化物歧化酶所特有的。对束状短膜虫超氧化物歧化酶的研究表明：1）该酶位于胞质溶胶中；2）存在同工酶；3）主要的超氧化物歧化酶同工酶（超氧化物歧化酶2）的相对分子质量约为43,000，由两个大小相等的亚基组成，每个亚基含有1.4个铁原子。将这种短膜虫超氧化物歧化酶的氨基酸含量与其他来源的超氧化物歧化酶进行比较，结果表明，短膜虫酶与细菌含铁超氧化物歧化酶密切相关，而与人类含锰和含铜、锌的超氧化物歧化酶以及眼虫含铁超氧化物歧化酶的关系较远。目前正在尝试开发锥虫超氧化物歧化酶的特异性抑制剂，这些抑制剂可能用于治疗利什曼病或锥虫病。
