Glutathionylation pathways in drug response

Abstract

Regulation of protein function through post-translational modifications (PTM) can be important pharmacological target, and there are drugs developed to modulate specific PTM such as protein kinase or histone deacetylase inhibitors. We are still far behind in considering protein glutathionylation as pharmacological target as the biological consequences and role of this PTM are still unclear. We discuss the possible relevance of glutathionylation in diseases and its biases compared with other PTM. In particular, we discuss the different roles of glutathionylation in the context of redox regulation as opposed to that of oxidative stress, and the difficulties arising from the overlaps of these two concepts.