The R213G polymorphism in SOD3 protects against allergic airway inflammation

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Abstract

Oxidative stress is important in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma. Extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD; SOD3) is the major antioxidant in lungs, but its role in allergic asthma is unknown. Here we report that asthmatics have increased SOD3 transcript levels in sputum and that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in SOD3 (R213G; rs1799895) changes lung distribution of EC-SOD, and decreases likelihood of asthma-related symptoms. Knockin mice analogous to the human R213G SNP had lower airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammation, and mucus hypersecretion with decreased interleukin-33 (IL-33) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and reduced type II innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) in lungs. SOD mimetic (Mn (III) tetrakis (N-ethylpyridinium-2-yl) porphyrin) attenuated Alternaria-induced expression of IL-33 and IL-8 release in BEAS-2B cells. These results suggest that R213G SNP potentially benefits its carriers by resulting in high EC-SOD in airway-lining fluid, which ameliorates allergic airway inflammation by dampening the innate immune response, including IL-33/ST2–mediated changes in ILC2s.

Authors

Rohit Gaurav, Jason T. Varasteh, Michael R. Weaver, Sean R. Jacobson, Laura Hernandez-Lagunas, Qing Liu, Eva Nozik-Grayck, Hong Wei Chu, Rafeul Alam, Børge G. Nordestgaard, Camilla J. Kobylecki, Shoaib Afzal, Geoffrey L. Chupp, Russell P. Bowler