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Primary topic: SOD2 oxidative stress gene

SOD2 Gene and Metabolism: What It Means for Your Body

SOD2 supports mitochondrial antioxidant defense, making it relevant when recovery and oxidative load seem harder than expected.

What is the SOD2 gene?

SOD2 encodes manganese superoxide dismutase, an enzyme that helps neutralize superoxide radicals in mitochondria. It is a core part of cellular redox defense.

How SOD2 affects metabolism

If SOD2-related defense is less efficient, oxidative load may accumulate faster during heavy workload, inflammation, or recovery demand. That can make resilience feel lower than expected.

What happens when SOD2 is altered

Altered SOD2 function does not automatically create a problem, but it can reduce buffering capacity enough that redox markers and recovery patterns deserve more attention.

Curated SNP evidence for SOD2

These SNPs come from the approved study-level evidence model. Each claim is scored from curated study rows, then gated before it can influence pathway scoring.

Inflammation / immune signaling Mitochondrial energy Nitric oxide / vascular tone Oxidative stress

Evidence-backed report connection

SOD2 currently has 2 curated SNPs, 13 claim-level scores, and 0 claims eligible for pathway scoring.

Open the sample report
rs4880V16A, Val16Ala3 claims · 6 study rows

enzyme activity · AA

SOD2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs4880 AA is associated with reduced SOD2 enzyme activity.

SOD2 rs4880 is scored as a lower mitochondrial SOD2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for AG.

Likely effectLower enzyme activity signal
Signal sizeSmall signal
Evidence supportLimited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs4880 in SOD2. In the SOD2 transcript annotation, the common A letter corresponds to Val at this position and the G letter corresponds to Ala. This supports using A-containing genotypes as the lower-activity side of this simplified record.PMC11944236review · directThis open-access review/study describes rs4880 as the SOD2 Ala16Val polymorphism and summarizes prior functional evidence that the Val form has less efficient mitochondrial transport and lower capacity to neutralize superoxide. This supports a cautious lower-activity tendency for Val-side genotypes.

enzyme activity · AG

SOD2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs4880 AG is associated with reduced SOD2 enzyme activity.

SOD2 rs4880 is scored as a lower mitochondrial SOD2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for AG.

Likely effectLower enzyme activity signal
Signal sizeSmall signal
Evidence supportLimited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs4880 in SOD2. In the SOD2 transcript annotation, the common A letter corresponds to Val at this position and the G letter corresponds to Ala. This supports using A-containing genotypes as the lower-activity side of this simplified record.PMC11944236review · directThis open-access review/study describes rs4880 as the SOD2 Ala16Val polymorphism and summarizes prior functional evidence that the Val form has less efficient mitochondrial transport and lower capacity to neutralize superoxide. This supports a cautious lower-activity tendency for Val-side genotypes.

enzyme activity · GG

SOD2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs4880 GG has no scored directional claim for SOD2 enzyme activity.

SOD2 rs4880 is scored as a lower mitochondrial SOD2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for AG.

Likely effectNo clear enzyme signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs4880 in SOD2. In the SOD2 transcript annotation, the common A letter corresponds to Val at this position and the G letter corresponds to Ala. This supports using A-containing genotypes as the lower-activity side of this simplified record.PMC11944236review · directThis open-access review/study describes rs4880 as the SOD2 Ala16Val polymorphism and summarizes prior functional evidence that the Val form has less efficient mitochondrial transport and lower capacity to neutralize superoxide. This supports a cautious lower-activity tendency for Val-side genotypes.
rs5746136SOD2 supporting signal10 claims · 30 study rows

expression · TT

SOD2 gene expression

Not used for pathway scoring

rs5746136 TT is associated with increased SOD2 gene expression.

SOD2 rs5746136 is scored only as a weak, tissue-specific expression tendency: common T-containing genotypes are assigned a small higher-expression score, while other observed letters are unscored.

Likely effectHigher gene expression signal
Signal sizeSmall signal
Evidence supportLimited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs5746136 in SOD2 and lists A, C, G, and T as observed letters on the preferred genomic placement. Current GTEx variant notation for the common expression signal uses the C/T allele pair.Evidence 2expression eqtl · directGTEx v8 reports rs5746136 as a significant SOD2 eQTL in heart left ventricle and esophagus mucosa. The C-to-T variant has positive normalized effect sizes in those tissues, supporting a weak tissue-specific tendency toward higher SOD2 expression for T-containing common genotypes.PubMed 29459008expression eqtl · directA smaller human study evaluated SOD2 rs5746136 and reported no relationship between study genotypes and SOD2 expression. It is retained as direct null expression evidence.

expression · CT

SOD2 gene expression

Not used for pathway scoring

rs5746136 CT is associated with increased SOD2 gene expression.

SOD2 rs5746136 is scored only as a weak, tissue-specific expression tendency: common T-containing genotypes are assigned a small higher-expression score, while other observed letters are unscored.

Likely effectHigher gene expression signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportLimited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs5746136 in SOD2 and lists A, C, G, and T as observed letters on the preferred genomic placement. Current GTEx variant notation for the common expression signal uses the C/T allele pair.Evidence 2expression eqtl · directGTEx v8 reports rs5746136 as a significant SOD2 eQTL in heart left ventricle and esophagus mucosa. The C-to-T variant has positive normalized effect sizes in those tissues, supporting a weak tissue-specific tendency toward higher SOD2 expression for T-containing common genotypes.PubMed 29459008expression eqtl · directA smaller human study evaluated SOD2 rs5746136 and reported no relationship between study genotypes and SOD2 expression. It is retained as direct null expression evidence.

expression · AA

SOD2 gene expression

Not used for pathway scoring

rs5746136 AA has no scored directional claim for SOD2 gene expression.

SOD2 rs5746136 is scored only as a weak, tissue-specific expression tendency: common T-containing genotypes are assigned a small higher-expression score, while other observed letters are unscored.

Likely effectNo clear expression signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs5746136 in SOD2 and lists A, C, G, and T as observed letters on the preferred genomic placement. Current GTEx variant notation for the common expression signal uses the C/T allele pair.Evidence 2expression eqtl · directGTEx v8 reports rs5746136 as a significant SOD2 eQTL in heart left ventricle and esophagus mucosa. The C-to-T variant has positive normalized effect sizes in those tissues, supporting a weak tissue-specific tendency toward higher SOD2 expression for T-containing common genotypes.PubMed 29459008expression eqtl · directA smaller human study evaluated SOD2 rs5746136 and reported no relationship between study genotypes and SOD2 expression. It is retained as direct null expression evidence.

expression · AC

SOD2 gene expression

Not used for pathway scoring

rs5746136 AC has no scored directional claim for SOD2 gene expression.

SOD2 rs5746136 is scored only as a weak, tissue-specific expression tendency: common T-containing genotypes are assigned a small higher-expression score, while other observed letters are unscored.

Likely effectNo clear expression signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs5746136 in SOD2 and lists A, C, G, and T as observed letters on the preferred genomic placement. Current GTEx variant notation for the common expression signal uses the C/T allele pair.Evidence 2expression eqtl · directGTEx v8 reports rs5746136 as a significant SOD2 eQTL in heart left ventricle and esophagus mucosa. The C-to-T variant has positive normalized effect sizes in those tissues, supporting a weak tissue-specific tendency toward higher SOD2 expression for T-containing common genotypes.PubMed 29459008expression eqtl · directA smaller human study evaluated SOD2 rs5746136 and reported no relationship between study genotypes and SOD2 expression. It is retained as direct null expression evidence.

expression · AG

SOD2 gene expression

Not used for pathway scoring

rs5746136 AG has no scored directional claim for SOD2 gene expression.

SOD2 rs5746136 is scored only as a weak, tissue-specific expression tendency: common T-containing genotypes are assigned a small higher-expression score, while other observed letters are unscored.

Likely effectNo clear expression signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs5746136 in SOD2 and lists A, C, G, and T as observed letters on the preferred genomic placement. Current GTEx variant notation for the common expression signal uses the C/T allele pair.Evidence 2expression eqtl · directGTEx v8 reports rs5746136 as a significant SOD2 eQTL in heart left ventricle and esophagus mucosa. The C-to-T variant has positive normalized effect sizes in those tissues, supporting a weak tissue-specific tendency toward higher SOD2 expression for T-containing common genotypes.PubMed 29459008expression eqtl · directA smaller human study evaluated SOD2 rs5746136 and reported no relationship between study genotypes and SOD2 expression. It is retained as direct null expression evidence.

expression · AT

SOD2 gene expression

Not used for pathway scoring

rs5746136 AT has no scored directional claim for SOD2 gene expression.

SOD2 rs5746136 is scored only as a weak, tissue-specific expression tendency: common T-containing genotypes are assigned a small higher-expression score, while other observed letters are unscored.

Likely effectNo clear expression signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs5746136 in SOD2 and lists A, C, G, and T as observed letters on the preferred genomic placement. Current GTEx variant notation for the common expression signal uses the C/T allele pair.Evidence 2expression eqtl · directGTEx v8 reports rs5746136 as a significant SOD2 eQTL in heart left ventricle and esophagus mucosa. The C-to-T variant has positive normalized effect sizes in those tissues, supporting a weak tissue-specific tendency toward higher SOD2 expression for T-containing common genotypes.PubMed 29459008expression eqtl · directA smaller human study evaluated SOD2 rs5746136 and reported no relationship between study genotypes and SOD2 expression. It is retained as direct null expression evidence.

expression · CC

SOD2 gene expression

Not used for pathway scoring

rs5746136 CC has no scored directional claim for SOD2 gene expression.

SOD2 rs5746136 is scored only as a weak, tissue-specific expression tendency: common T-containing genotypes are assigned a small higher-expression score, while other observed letters are unscored.

Likely effectNo clear expression signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs5746136 in SOD2 and lists A, C, G, and T as observed letters on the preferred genomic placement. Current GTEx variant notation for the common expression signal uses the C/T allele pair.Evidence 2expression eqtl · directGTEx v8 reports rs5746136 as a significant SOD2 eQTL in heart left ventricle and esophagus mucosa. The C-to-T variant has positive normalized effect sizes in those tissues, supporting a weak tissue-specific tendency toward higher SOD2 expression for T-containing common genotypes.PubMed 29459008expression eqtl · directA smaller human study evaluated SOD2 rs5746136 and reported no relationship between study genotypes and SOD2 expression. It is retained as direct null expression evidence.

expression · CG

SOD2 gene expression

Not used for pathway scoring

rs5746136 CG has no scored directional claim for SOD2 gene expression.

SOD2 rs5746136 is scored only as a weak, tissue-specific expression tendency: common T-containing genotypes are assigned a small higher-expression score, while other observed letters are unscored.

Likely effectNo clear expression signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs5746136 in SOD2 and lists A, C, G, and T as observed letters on the preferred genomic placement. Current GTEx variant notation for the common expression signal uses the C/T allele pair.Evidence 2expression eqtl · directGTEx v8 reports rs5746136 as a significant SOD2 eQTL in heart left ventricle and esophagus mucosa. The C-to-T variant has positive normalized effect sizes in those tissues, supporting a weak tissue-specific tendency toward higher SOD2 expression for T-containing common genotypes.PubMed 29459008expression eqtl · directA smaller human study evaluated SOD2 rs5746136 and reported no relationship between study genotypes and SOD2 expression. It is retained as direct null expression evidence.

expression · GG

SOD2 gene expression

Not used for pathway scoring

rs5746136 GG has no scored directional claim for SOD2 gene expression.

SOD2 rs5746136 is scored only as a weak, tissue-specific expression tendency: common T-containing genotypes are assigned a small higher-expression score, while other observed letters are unscored.

Likely effectNo clear expression signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs5746136 in SOD2 and lists A, C, G, and T as observed letters on the preferred genomic placement. Current GTEx variant notation for the common expression signal uses the C/T allele pair.Evidence 2expression eqtl · directGTEx v8 reports rs5746136 as a significant SOD2 eQTL in heart left ventricle and esophagus mucosa. The C-to-T variant has positive normalized effect sizes in those tissues, supporting a weak tissue-specific tendency toward higher SOD2 expression for T-containing common genotypes.PubMed 29459008expression eqtl · directA smaller human study evaluated SOD2 rs5746136 and reported no relationship between study genotypes and SOD2 expression. It is retained as direct null expression evidence.

expression · GT

SOD2 gene expression

Not used for pathway scoring

rs5746136 GT has no scored directional claim for SOD2 gene expression.

SOD2 rs5746136 is scored only as a weak, tissue-specific expression tendency: common T-containing genotypes are assigned a small higher-expression score, while other observed letters are unscored.

Likely effectNo clear expression signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs5746136 in SOD2 and lists A, C, G, and T as observed letters on the preferred genomic placement. Current GTEx variant notation for the common expression signal uses the C/T allele pair.Evidence 2expression eqtl · directGTEx v8 reports rs5746136 as a significant SOD2 eQTL in heart left ventricle and esophagus mucosa. The C-to-T variant has positive normalized effect sizes in those tissues, supporting a weak tissue-specific tendency toward higher SOD2 expression for T-containing common genotypes.PubMed 29459008expression eqtl · directA smaller human study evaluated SOD2 rs5746136 and reported no relationship between study genotypes and SOD2 expression. It is retained as direct null expression evidence.

Common symptoms people report

  • slower recovery after heavy physical or mental load
  • fatigue that seems tied to accumulated stress
  • higher sensitivity to inflammatory or oxidative stressors
  • concern about redox balance and resilience

Biomarkers to validate

GSH/GSSG ratio

Directly useful for redox-balance follow-up.

hs-CRP

Adds inflammatory context when oxidative stress may be relevant.

Recovery and workload tracking

Important practical context for interpreting redox stress.

Where DNA analysis helps

DNA helps identify whether oxidative-stress defense should be validated before broad antioxidant strategies are used without evidence.

Example Insight

Your mitochondrial antioxidant defense may have less reserve under sustained load.

Suggested validation: GSH/GSSG ratio.

What to do next

  • Validate redox markers before building a supplement stack around oxidative stress.
  • Compare SOD2 with GPX1 and G6PD when redox support looks clustered.
  • Use recovery context alongside lab markers rather than interpreting the gene alone.

Upload your DNA file and receive a structured metabolic pathway analysis with prioritized insights and suggested validation markers.

Get My DNA Report

Related pages

GPX1

GPX1 antioxidant gene

G6PD

G6PD deficiency metabolism

GSH/GSSG ratio

GSH GSSG ratio explained

Oxidative stress panel

oxidative stress panel and redox load

Inflammation and immune signaling pathway

inflammation immune signaling pathway

Iron handling and storage pathway

iron handling storage pathway

Can DNA predict metabolism?

can DNA predict metabolism

Best DNA test for metabolism

best DNA test for metabolism

Related symptom angle

Low energy metabolism causes

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