Skin necrosis in sea turtle cold stunning: Regeneration following rMnSOD topic treatment in a specimen of Caretta caretta

A cell line derived from a human liposarcoma, named LSA, was previously reported to secrete a protein with a unique ability to penetrate solely cancer cells. The protein was revealed to be a variant isoform of Manganese SuperOxide Dismutase which was also obtained in recombinant form and so called rMnSOD (Mancini et al. 2006). The remarkable enzymatic capacity of this rMnSOD to neutralize free radicals occurring in damaged tissues was used to cure a diffuse skin necrosis of the neck, head and fins of a specimen of sea turtle Caretta caretta. The present work describes the total recovery of lesions in a specimen of C. caretta affected by hypothermia. Treatment with rMnSOD appears to have enzymatically transformed all the free radicals occurring in the lesion, thus avoiding necrosis and disruption of the tissue and generating new tissue.