Attempt of developing a technique for detecting in situ protein. glutathionylation and its adaptation to the studies of psychiatric disorders.

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It is postulated that oxidative stress may be involved in the pathophysiology of some psychiatric disorders, however, sophisticated method to investigate redox status in brain is lacking even in animal studies. In this study, we aimed to confirm the alteration in redox status induced by repeated cocaine administration in situ in the rat striatum. First, we found that an anti-oxidative stress compound, N-acetylcysteine, reduced many synaptic proteins in the nucleus accumbens as the consequence of repeated cocaine administration. Second, it appeared that the production of glutathione, the major endogenous antioxidant, shifted from astroglias to neurons. These results suggest a necessity of more cell-type-specific approach to detect the alteration of glutathione metabolism.