Manganese catalase superoxidized form

In manganese catalases the superoxidized Mn1" Mnlv form has been shown to be inactive, and to date no function for the mixed-valence Mnn Mnm form has been found. 

Catalases catalyze the conversion of hydrogen peroxide to dioxygen and water. Two families of catalases are known, one having a heme cofactor and the second a structurally distinct family, found in thermophilic and lactic acid bacteria. The manganese enzymes contain a binuclear active site and the functional form of the enzyme cycles between the (Mn )2 and the (Mn )2 oxidation states. When isolated, the enzyme is in a mixture of oxidation states including the Mn /Mn superoxidized state and this form of the enzyme has been extensively studied using XAS, UV-visible, EPR, and ESEEM spectroscopies. Multifrequency EPR and microwave polarization studies of the (Mn )2 catalytically active enzyme from L. plantarum have also been reported. ... 

There are a number of enzymes that catalyse the dismutation of superoxide in vivo, viz. the superoxide dismutases [50,51], They are metalloproteins which contain copper, zinc, manganese or iron as the prosthetic group. The enzyme catalase exists in vivo to degrade hydrogen peroxide within cells to form water and oxygen [43]. As stated earlier, there are barely detectable amounts of these two enzymes in the synovial fluid of arthritic patients and hence both superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide are potential mediators of damage to the biomolecules of the synovial fluid. 

Manganese is required by mitochondrial superoxide dismutase. This enzyme catalyzes the same reaction catalyzed by the cytosolic form of the enzyme, namely the conversion of superoxide to hydrogen peroxide. Superoxide is a molecule of oxygen containing one additional electron. It is produced as a byproduct of various reactions in which molecular oxygen (O ) is involved. These reactions may include those of cytochrome c oxidase and various flavoproteins- The HOOH formed by superoxide is decomposed by catalase ... 

The kinetics of formation of the intermediate complex between catalase and HgOa have been re-examined, and reports of pulse radiolysis experiments with superoxide dismutase and its manganese-containing form have appeared. Bovine superoxide dismutase is known to contain two Cu and two Zn atoms per molecule and it has been shown that the copper site, which is directly involved in the catalytic activity, comprises three nitrogens and a water molecule bound to the metal in a field with less than axial symmetry. Less is known of the zinc site but it has recently been shown, by e.p.r. spectroscopy with the cobalt-copper form of the enzyme, that the... 

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