Neocarzinostatin (NCS) is mutagenic in bacteria, yeast, fungi, and mammalian cells. In cell-free systems, DNA strand breakage induced by NCS requires a reducing agent like 2-mercaptoethanol, unless very high (greater than 100 micrograms/ml) concentrations of NCS are used. In this study, we have investigated the role of the sulfhydryl compound glutathione (GSH), which is usually the most common ...

Human umbilical vein smooth muscle cells (HUVSMCs) utilize extracellular cystine, glutathione (GSH), and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to synthesize cellular GSH. Extracellular cystine was effective from 5 μM, whereas GSH and NAC were required at 100 μM for comparable effects. The efficacy of extracellular GSH was dependent on de novo GSH synthesis, indicating a dependence on cellular γ-glutamyltransf...

Mitochondrial oxidative stress significantly contributes to the underlying pathology of several devastating neurodegenerative disorders. Mitochondria are highly sensitive to the damaging effects of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species; therefore, these organelles are equipped with a number of free radical scavenging systems. In particular, the mitochondrial glutathione (GSH) pool is a critical ...

Earthworms have been widely used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. However, it is only during the past few decades, with the development of biochemical technologies, that research on the pharmaceutical effects has been initiated. The present study was carried out to investigate the hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties of indigenous earthworm powder (Perionyx excavatus), usi...

Oesophageal carcinoma is a common form of cancer in developing countries, especially in the Caspian littoral and northern China. In contrast, it has a much lower incidence in Japan, the U.S.A. and western Europe. Certainly in the case of squamous cell oesophageal carcinoma, dietary composition, smoking, alcohol and exposure to nitrosamines are major risk factors that may partly explain the dise...

Little is known about the variability of blood glutathione (GSH) in human subjects. Thus, we wanted to develop and validate a rapid method for measuring GSH concentrations in whole blood and apply this method to ascertain the variation of GSH in a large-scale study of free-living adults. The assay was highly sensitive (detection limit < 5 pmol) and precise, with an interassay variation of 2.3% ...

Introduction: As a free radical scavenger and non-enzymatic anti-oxidant, reduced glutathione (GSH) plays a major role in the defense against reactive oxygen species in the human brain. Acute ischemic stroke is associated with significant oxidative stress and subsequent precipitates changes in the glutathione system. Clinical studies have shown that subjects with risk factors for stroke have re...

BACKGROUND Patients with HIV have an increased incidence of pulmonary artery hypertension. This study was designed to determine if the naturally occurring antioxidant dihydroxybenzyl alcohol (DHBA) could counteract the deleterious effects of ritonavir (RTV), an HIV-protease inhibitor known to impair endothelial function and increase oxidative stress. MATERIAL/METHODS Antioxidant assays were p...