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Review
. 2019 Sep 30;11(10):2318.
doi: 10.3390/nu11102318.

Glutathione and Nitric Oxide: Key Team Players in Use and Disuse of Skeletal Muscle

Sara Baldelli  1 , Fabio Ciccarone  2 , Dolores Limongi  3 , Paola Checconi  4 , Anna Teresa Palamara  5   6 , Maria Rosa Ciriolo  7   8
Affiliations
Review

Glutathione and Nitric Oxide: Key Team Players in Use and Disuse of Skeletal Muscle

Sara Baldelli et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Glutathione (GSH) is the main non-enzymatic antioxidant playing an important role in detoxification, signal transduction by modulation of protein thiols redox status and direct scavenging of radicals. The latter function is not only performed against reactive oxygen species (ROS) but GSH also has a fundamental role in buffering nitric oxide (NO), a physiologically-produced molecule having-multifaceted functions. The efficient rate of GSH synthesis and high levels of GSH-dependent enzymes are characteristic features of healthy skeletal muscle where, besides the canonical functions, it is also involved in muscle contraction regulation. Moreover, NO production in skeletal muscle is a direct consequence of contractile activity and influences several metabolic myocyte pathways under both physiological and pathological conditions. In this review, we will consider the homeostasis and intersection of GSH with NO and then we will restrict the discussion on their role in processes related to skeletal muscle function and degeneration.

Keywords: atrophy; exercise; inflammation; nitrosative stress; oxidative stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cellular GSH homeostasis. For details see the text.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The crosstalk between GSH and NO. For details see the text.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Oxidative and Nitrosative stress/signaling during intense and moderate physical exercise. For details see the text.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Oxidative/Nitrosative stress during prolonged physical inactivity. For details see the text.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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