Poster abstracts

Poster number 43 submitted by Elizabeth Lewis

Interactions of Human Superoxide Dismutase 2 with RNA

Elizabeth Lewis (Chemistry, John Carroll University), Ryan Schoonmaker (Chemistry, John Carroll University)

Abstract:
To corroborate and extend earlier findings that human superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) has the ability to bind to DNA, we used fluorescence spectroscopy to monitor the interaction of SOD2 with RNA. The tryptophan residues in free SOD2 fluoresce strongly when free, but are quenched upon binding RNA. The extent of quenching is proportional to the amount of RNA that is bound, thus we can derive binding affinities from these titrations. We have measured the affinity of SOD2 for poly(U) and poly(A) at different temperatures to determine if enthalpy contributes to the binding affinity. We anticipate determining whether SOD2 exhibits fluorescence quenching upon binding single- and double-stranded DNA as well as the salt dependence of SOD2 binding to RNA and DNA

Keywords: SOD2, fluorescence, thermodynamics