Expression of Superoxide Dismutase in Basal Cell Carcinoma

There have been no studies of the expression of superoxide dismutase(SOD) at the mRNA and protein level in skin cancers. Northern blot analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were performed in order to analyze the expression of Cu, Zn-SOD and Mn-SOD in basal cell carcinomas (BCC) and normal skin (NS). The expression of Mn-SOD mRNA and protein was significantly higher in BCC than in NS. The expression of Cu,Zn-SOD, however, was high in BCC at the mRNA level, but not at the protein level. These results suggest that an increase in the expression of Mn-SOD relates to the development of BCCs