title: SOD-1 deletions in Caenorhabditis elegans alter the localization of intracellular reactive oxygen species and show molecular compensation.
abstract: Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is an enzyme that catalytically removes the superoxide radical (*O2-) and protects organisms from oxidative damage during normal aging. We demonstrate that not only the cytosolic *O2- level but also the mitochondrial *O2- level increases in the deletion mutants of sod-1 gene encoding Cu/Zn SOD in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). Interestingly, this suggests that the activity of SOD-1, which so far has been thought to act mainly in cytoplasm, helps to control the detoxification of *O2- also in the mitochondria. We also found functional compensation by other SODs, especially the sod-5 gene, which was induced several fold in the mutants. Therefore, the possibility exists that the compensative expression of sod-5 gene in the sod-1 deficit is associated with the insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1 (Ins/IGF-1) signaling pathway, which regulates longevity and stress resistance of C. elegans because the sod-5 gene may be a target of the pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Science, Daito Bunka University School of Sports and Health Science, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Sumino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yanase
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Onodera
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tedesco
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Naoaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishii
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000201:enzymology*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics*; D000072105:Superoxide Dismutase-1
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D000072105:Superoxide Dismutase-1