AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN GLUTATHIONE METABOLISM

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Oxidative stress is thought to be one of the mechanisms leading to the initiation or progression of specific diseases as well as to the general process of aging. Glutathione (GSH), a tripeptide present in high concentrations in all mammalian cells, is the body's major endogenous antioxidant and plays a vital role in detoxification reactions and in the protection of cells from the toxic effects of oxidants. Maintenance of body GSH stores is a complex, integrated phenomenon, and there has been a resurgence of interest in potential interventions that may modulate GSH levels in the whole body and in specific tissues and cells. Advancing age, known to be associated with increased oxidative stress, is also reported to be associated with cardiovascular disease, impaired glucose tolerance, and diabetes mellitus; the latter has also been shown to be accompanied by lower GSH concentrations. The mechanisms that could be responsible for a compromised GSH status include decreased synthesis and/or increased utilization relative to synthetic capacity. Ideally, one would like to measure in vivo rates of both GSH synthesis and utilization. Unfortunately, the multitude of pathways consuming GSH, as well as tissue variation, makes it impossible to have meaningful simultaneous measurements of utilization by all of the different pathways in the human. Hence, the focus of this proposal will be on GSH synthesis rates.