Superoxide Dismutase Activity in Leukocytes

Lawrence R. Dechatelet; Charles E. McCall; Linda C. McPhail; Richard B. Johnston

doi:10.1172/JCI107659

^{Department of Biochemistry, The Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103}

^{Department of Medicine, The Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103}

^{The Department of Pediatrics, The University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama 25233}

Find articles by Dechatelet, L. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

^{Department of Biochemistry, The Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103}

^{Department of Medicine, The Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103}

^{The Department of Pediatrics, The University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama 25233}

Find articles by McCall, C. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

^{Department of Biochemistry, The Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103}

^{Department of Medicine, The Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103}

^{The Department of Pediatrics, The University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama 25233}

Find articles by McPhail, L. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

^{Department of Biochemistry, The Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103}

^{Department of Medicine, The Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103}

^{The Department of Pediatrics, The University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama 25233}

Find articles by Johnston, R. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

Published in Volume 53, Issue 4 on April 1, 1974
J Clin Invest. 1974;53(4):1197–1201. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI107659.
© 1974 The American Society for Clinical Investigation

Published April 1, 1974 - Version history

Superoxide dismutase activity has been identified in both human neutrophils and rabbit alveolar macrophages by two distinct assay procedures. The enzyme is insensitive to both cyanide and azide and is present in the cytosol of the cell. The identification of this enzyme in phagocytic cells is compatible with the theory that superoxide anion might be involved in the bactericidal activity of the cell. It is proposed that the enzyme functions to protect the cell against superoxide generated during the phagocytic process.