Increased susceptibility of glutathione peroxidase-1 transgenic mice to kainic acid-related seizure activity and hippocampal neuronal cell death.

Glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) has been demonstrated in several in vivo studies to reduce both the risk and severity of oxidatively-induced tissue damage. The seizure-inducing neurotoxin kainic acid (KA) has been suggested to elicit its toxic effects in part via generation of oxidative stress. In this study, we report that expression of elevated levels of murine GSHPx-1 in transgenic mice surprisingly results in increased rather than decreased KA susceptibility including increased seizure activity and neuronal hippocampal damage. Isolated transgenic primary hippocampal culture neurons also display increased susceptibility to KA treatment compared with those from wildtype animals. This could be due to alterations in the redox state of the glutathione system resulting in elevated glutathione disulfide (GSSG) levels which, in turn, may directly activate NMDA receptors or enhanced response of the NMDA receptor.

Toxicity of azathioprine and monocrotaline in murine sinusoidal endothelial cells and hepatocytes: the role of glutathione and relevance to hepatic venoocclusive disease.

The mechanisms leading to hepatic venoocclusive disease (HVOD) remain largely unknown. Azathioprine and monocrotaline were studied as part of a series of studies looking at a variety of toxins that induce HVOD to find common features that might be of pathogenic significance. In a previous study, dacarbazine showed selective in vitro toxicity to sinusoidal endothelial cells (SEC) compared with hepatocytes and a key role for SEC glutathione (GSH) was demonstrated. Murine SEC and hepatocytes were isolated and studied in culture. Azathioprine and monocrotaline were found to be selectively more toxic to SEC than to hepatocytes. The relative resistance of hepatocytes to azathioprine was due to enhanced GSH defense: hepatocytes exposed to azathioprine maintained intracellular GSH levels better than SEC, particularly when supplemental GSH precursors were added, and hepatocyte resistance was completely overcome by depletion of intracellular GSH. In contrast, monocrotaline toxicity in hepatocytes was largely unaffected by depletion of GSH, which suggests that selectivity of monocrotaline for SEC may be attributable to differences in metabolic activation. Both compounds are detoxified by GSH in SEC, as demonstrated by enhanced toxicity in the presence of buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) and attenuation of toxicity with exogenous GSH. SEC GSH levels were more than 70% to 80% depleted by monocrotaline and azathioprine, respectively, before cell death. Azathioprine and monocrotaline are selectively toxic to SEC; the mechanism of toxicity in the SEC may be caused by profound GSH depletion.

Transport of glutathione at blood-brain barrier of the rat: inhibition by glutathione analogs and age-dependence.

We showed previously that glutathione (GSH) may cross the blood-brain barrier intact by a saturable low affinity transport process (Km approximately 6 mM) (Kannan et al., J. Clin. Invest. 85: 2009-2013, 1990). In the present report, breakdown and resynthesis of GSH as the mechanism of apparent GSH uptake were excluded further because > 87% of injected 35S-cysteine taken up at the blood-brain barrier remained unchanged with negligible incorporation into GSH. In an effort to characterize further this GSH transport system, we have studied the influence of a number of potential inhibitors on brain uptake index (BUI) of GSH in rats pretreated with a gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase inhibitor, acivicin. The BUIs of tracer 35S-GSH uptake in the presence or absence of 1 to 20 mM cysteine, glutathione disulfide, gamma-glutamylglutamate, gamma-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide and 2-aminobicyclo(2,2,1)heptane-2-carboxylic acid did not differ significantly from each other. However, S-alkyl glutathiones (hexyl and octyl), sulfobromophthalein-glutathione, glutathione monoethyl ester, probenecid (5 mM) and ophthalmic acid (10 mM) inhibited GSH uptake significantly. Inhibition of GSH uptake by sulfobromophthalein-glutathione and GSH-monoethyl ester was concentration-dependent with apparent Ki approximately 0.016 and 0.083 mM, respectively. There was a decline in GSH-BUI as a function of age in both acivicin and nonacivicin-pretreated rats during the growth and developmental period from 25 to 135 days of age (100-500 g b.wt.). The decrease in BUI with age was specific for GSH; cysteine uptake did not change and no difference in diffusible (H2O) and nondiffusible (sucrose) components was found in this age range.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Neutrophil accumulation in ischemic reperfused rat liver: evidence for a role for superoxide free radicals.

Oxygen-derived free radicals and leukocytes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion injury. This study aimed at determining, by using biochemical and histochemical techniques, whether an accumulation of neutrophils occurs in the ischemic reperfused rat liver and whether superoxide free radicals play a role in mediating this neutrophil accumulation. Hepatic ischemia was induced by occluding blood supply to the left and median lobes, and reperfusion was reinstituted by releasing the occlusion. Myeloperoxidase activity of the liver was measured with a tetramethylbenzidine-H2O2 assay after removal of glutathione (by dialysis) and in the presence of 3-aminotriazole (catalase inhibitor). A modification of Graham and Karnovsky's method was used to stain neutrophils in liver frozen sections, and the number of neutrophils was counted. Results showed that ischemia-reperfusion of the liver produced a 4.4-fold increase in myeloperoxidase activity (from 0.073 +/- 0.009 to 0.320 +/- 0.017 units/mg liver, means +/- SE), which was proportional to the number of neutrophils (3.1-fold increase from 18 +/- 7 to 57 +/- 4 cells/mm2) in the liver tissue. Pretreatment with long-acting superoxide dismutase significantly attenuated the elevated myeloperoxidase activity and the number of neutrophils. These results indicate that reperfusion after a period of ischemia induces an accumulation of neutrophils in the liver, and superoxide anion free radicals are important mediators in the mechanism of this neutrophil accumulation.

Evidence for carrier-mediated transport of glutathione across the blood-brain barrier in the rat.

Information on the origin of brain glutathione and the possibility of its transport from blood to brain is limited. We found a substantial uptake of 35S-labeled glutathione by the rat brain using the carotid artery injection technique. The brain uptake index of glutathione with and without an irreversible gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase inhibitor, acivicin, was similar. No significant differences in the regional uptake of labeled glutathione were found in rats pretreated with acivicin. The brain uptake index of tracer glutathione was similar to that of cysteine tracer and was lower than that of phenylalanine. The transport of oxidized glutathione (glutathione disfulfide) across the blood-brain barrier was not significantly different from that of sucrose, an impermeable marker. Brain radioactivity 15 s after carotid artery injection of labeled glutathione to rats pretreated with acivicin was predominantly in the form of glutathione. The in vivo glutathione uptake was saturable with an apparent Km of 5.84 mM. Amino acids, amino acid analogues, and other compounds [cysteine, phenylalanine, glutathione disulfide, gamma-glutamylglutamate, gamma-glutamyl p-nitroanilide, 2-aminobicyclo(2,2,1)heptane-2-carboxylic acid (BCH)] did not affect glutathione transport. Our data suggest that glutathione is transported across the blood-brain barrier by a saturable and specific mechanism.

Trans-stimulation and driving forces for GSH transport in sinusoidal membrane vesicles from rat liver.

Sinusoidal membrane vesicles from rat liver were employed to study the characteristics of GSH transport. Saturable concentration dependent uptake was best described by the sum of a high and low Km transport. Preloading with GSH markedly stimulated the initial uptake of GSH. GSH transport was electrogenic; uptake was enhanced by an inwardly directed K+ gradient which could be blocked by the K+-channel blocker, Ba2+. The other cations such as Na+, Li+ were poor substitutes for K+. These results therefore show that net GSH transport involves movement of K+.