Rossi L, Ciriolo M R, Marchese E, De Martino A, Giorgi M, Rotilio G
Department of Biology, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1994 Sep 15;203(2):1028-34. doi: 10.1006/bbrc.1994.2285.
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.
