Superoxide dismutase therapeutic enzyme

Riley DP (1999) Functional mimics of superoxide dismutase enzymes as therapeutic agents. Chem. Rev. 99 2573-2587. 

Chemical modification, particularly succinylation, or coupling to polyglycols, can also increase the plasma half-life of enzymes. Conjugation with polyethylene glycol [PEG H(OCH2CH2)nOH] has successfully been employed to stabilize and protect several therapeutic enzymes. Such modification, for example, increases the plasma half-life of superoxide dismutase from 5 h to over 30 h. PEG-coupled asparaginase was approved for general medical use by the FDA in 1994. 

Another possibility for therapeutic application of polymer vesicles has been presented recently [242], Superoxide dismutase, an antioxidant enzyme, was encapsulated in the vesicular cavity and shown to remain functional in neutralizing superoxide radicals in situ. The polymer membranes were proven permeable to superoxide radicals by pulse radiolysis, and the encapsulation of the enzyme prolongs its lifetime (which is only minutes in the bloodstream, when non-shielded). 

Recent studies have shown that some LAB probiotic strains may play a protective role in IBD by expressing antioxidant enzymes (Kruidenier et al. 2003 Gosselink et al. 2004 LeBlanc et al. 2008). Therapeutic uses of recombinant LAB to locally deliver bioavailable antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), have been explored to decrease ROS levels in the GIT in order to cure IBD. 

---