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Rodney J. Folz

Bio: Rodney J. Folz is an academic researcher from Case Western Reserve University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Superoxide dismutase & Lung injury. The author has an hindex of 38, co-authored 101 publications receiving 6719 citations. Previous affiliations of Rodney J. Folz include University of Louisville & Duke University.


Papers
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TL;DR: Three unique and highly compartmentalized mammalian superoxide dismutases have been biochemically and molecularly characterized to date and a molecular understanding of each of these genes has proven useful toward the deciphering of their biological roles.

1,870 citations

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TL;DR: Myeloablative autologous hematopoietic stem‐cell transplantation achieved long‐term benefits in patients with scleroderma, including improved event‐free and overall survival, at a cost of increased expected toxicity.
Abstract: BackgroundDespite current therapies, diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) often has a devastating outcome. We compared myeloablative CD34+ selected autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation with immunosuppression by means of 12 monthly infusions of cyclophosphamide in patients with scleroderma. MethodsWe randomly assigned adults (18 to 69 years of age) with severe scleroderma to undergo myeloablative autologous stem-cell transplantation (36 participants) or to receive cyclophosphamide (39 participants). The primary end point was a global rank composite score comparing participants with each other on the basis of a hierarchy of disease features assessed at 54 months: death, event-free survival (survival without respiratory, renal, or cardiac failure), forced vital capacity, the score on the Disability Index of the Health Assessment Questionnaire, and the modified Rodnan skin score. ResultsIn the intention-to-treat population, global rank composite scores at 54 months showed the super...

375 citations

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TL;DR: Three-dimensional treatment planning tools provide dosimetric predictors for the risk of symptomatic RT-induced lung injury and allow for beams to be selected to minimize these risks.

364 citations

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TL;DR: A review of major forms of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the vessel wall is the extracellular SOD (ecSOD), and the characteristics of ecSOD and the role of SOD in cardiovascular diseases are discussed.
Abstract: Excessive production and/or inadequate removal of reactive oxygen species, especially superoxide anion (O(2)(*-)), have been implicated in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, and in endothelial dysfunction by decreasing nitric oxide (NO) bioactivity. Since the vascular levels of O(2)(*-) are regulated by the superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes, a role of SOD in the cardiovascular disease is of substantial interest. Particularly, a major form of SOD in the vessel wall is the extracellular SOD (ecSOD). This review will discuss the characteristics of ecSOD and the role of ecSOD in cardiovascular diseases.

328 citations

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TL;DR: It is concluded that oxidative and inflammatory processes in the extracellular lung compartment contribute to hyperoxic-induced lung damage and that overexpression of hEC-SOD mediates a protective response to hyperoxia, at least in part, by attenuating the neutrophil inflammatory response.
Abstract: Extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD, or SOD3) is the major extracellular antioxidant enzyme in the lung. To study the biologic role of EC-SOD in hyperoxic-induced pulmonary disease, we created transgenic (Tg) mice that specifically target overexpression of human EC-SOD (hEC-SOD) to alveolar type II and nonciliated bronchial epithelial cells. Mice heterozygous for the hEC-SOD transgene showed threefold higher EC-SOD levels in the lung compared with wild-type (Wt) littermate controls. A significant amount of hEC-SOD was present in the epithelial lining fluid layer. Both Tg and Wt mice were exposed to normobaric hyperoxia (>99% oxygen) for 48, 72, and 84 hours. Mice overexpressing hEC-SOD in the airways attenuated the hyperoxic lung injury response, showed decreased morphologic evidence of lung damage, had reduced numbers of recruited inflammatory cells, and had a reduced lung wet/dry ratio. To evaluate whether reduced numbers of neutrophil infiltration were directly responsible for the tolerance to oxygen toxicity observed in the Tg mice, we made Wt and Tg mice neutropenic using anti-neutrophil antibodies and subsequently exposed them to 72 hours of hyperoxia. Both Wt and Tg neutrophil-depleted (ND) mice have less severe lung injury compared with non-ND animals, thus providing direct evidence that neutrophils recruited to the lung during hyperoxia play a distinct role in the resultant acute lung injury. We conclude that oxidative and inflammatory processes in the extracellular lung compartment contribute to hyperoxic-induced lung damage and that overexpression of hEC-SOD mediates a protective response to hyperoxia, at least in part, by attenuating the neutrophil inflammatory response.

290 citations


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review summarizes the current state of knowledge of the functions of NOX enzymes in physiology and pathology.
Abstract: For a long time, superoxide generation by an NADPH oxidase was considered as an oddity only found in professional phagocytes. Over the last years, six homologs of the cytochrome subunit of the phag...

5,873 citations

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TL;DR: The present review provides a brief overview on oxidative stress mediated cellular damages and role of dietary antioxidants as functional foods in the management of human diseases.
Abstract: In recent years, there has been a great deal of attention toward the field of free radical chemistry. Free radicals reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species are generated by our body by various endogenous systems, exposure to different physiochemical conditions or pathological states. A balance between free radicals and antioxidants is necessary for proper physiological function. If free radicals overwhelm the body's ability to regulate them, a condition known as oxidative stress ensues. Free radicals thus adversely alter lipids, proteins, and DNA and trigger a number of human diseases. Hence application of external source of antioxidants can assist in coping this oxidative stress. Synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole have recently been reported to be dangerous for human health. Thus, the search for effective, nontoxic natural compounds with antioxidative activity has been intensified in recent years. The present review provides a brief overview on oxidative stress mediated cellular damages and role of dietary antioxidants as functional foods in the management of human diseases.

3,695 citations

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TL;DR: In this review, the cellular oxidant and antioxidant systems are summarized and the cellular effects and mechanisms of the oxidative stress are discussed.

3,573 citations

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TL;DR: Serological and molecular tests specific for the virus permitted a definitive laboratory diagnosis to be made and allowed further investigation to define whether other cofactors play a part in disease progression.

2,753 citations

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TL;DR: The molecular and biochemical characterization of HOs is reviewed, with a discussion on the mechanisms of signal transduction and gene regulation that mediate the induction of HO-1 by environmental stress, to lay a foundation for potential future clinical applications of these systems.
Abstract: The heme oxygenases, which consist of constitutive and inducible isozymes (HO-1, HO-2), catalyze the rate-limiting step in the metabolic conversion of heme to the bile pigments (i.e., biliverdin and bilirubin) and thus constitute a major intracellular source of iron and carbon monoxide (CO). In recent years, endogenously produced CO has been shown to possess intriguing signaling properties affecting numerous critical cellular functions including but not limited to inflammation, cellular proliferation, and apoptotic cell death. The era of gaseous molecules in biomedical research and human diseases initiated with the discovery that the endothelial cell-derived relaxing factor was identical to the gaseous molecule nitric oxide (NO). The discovery that endogenously produced gaseous molecules such as NO and now CO can impart potent physiological and biological effector functions truly represented a paradigm shift and unraveled new avenues of intense investigations. This review covers the molecular and biochemical characterization of HOs, with a discussion on the mechanisms of signal transduction and gene regulation that mediate the induction of HO-1 by environmental stress. Furthermore, the current understanding of the functional significance of HO shall be discussed from the perspective of each of the metabolic by-products, with a special emphasis on CO. Finally, this presentation aspires to lay a foundation for potential future clinical applications of these systems.

2,111 citations