Role of glutathione on acrolein-induced cytotoxicity and mutagenicity in Escherichia coli

Abstract

The reduced form of glutathione (GSH) is a well-known antioxidant, while there have been few reports indicating the contribution of glutathione to protection of Escherichia coli cells from the lethal effect of oxidative damage. Here, we report that depletion of glutathione causes hypersensitivity of E. coli to acrolein, the structurally simplest α, β-unsaturated aldehyde derived from lipid peroxide-degradation, and that GSH can chemically react with acrolein in vitro thus reducing its toxicity. We further demonstrated that acrolein inactivates glutathione oxidoreductase followed by depletion of glutathione, probably as a part of the toxic effect of acrolein. These results suggested that GSH contributes to cellular defense against the toxic effects.