Abstract
Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the thiol transport from human red blood cells. Glutathione (GSH) is present in human red cells at a concentration of approximately 2.5 m M . The antioxidant functions of GSH are well described and have been substantiated by numerous genetic disorders reflecting increased oxidation as a result of abnormal GSH metabolism. Another role for GSH in the red cell is the detoxification of xenobiotics by covalent conjugation. Both of these roles for GSH result in products that the red cell can either metabolize or extrude into the extracellular space. The demonstration that oxidatively stressed red cells extruded excess oxidized glutathione (GSSG) in an energy- and temperature-dependent process served as the foundation for this field and has resulted in the subsequent elucidation of the transport processes for GSSG as well as GSH adducts that are detailed in the chapter. Inside-out vesicles (IOV) serve as a useful tool for characterization of systems that transport substances from the inside to the outside of erythrocytes. The results show the presence of two different GSSG-stimulated ATPases in human red cell membranes with properties resembling those of the GSSG-transport systems. It seems reasonable to conclude that the enzymes play a role in the outward transport of thiols in human red blood cells.
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