Glutathione and glutathione S-transferase activities of mammalian cells in culture

Abstract

Continuous cell cultures derived from various tissues of rat, mouse, hamster and man were assayed for their glutathione (GSH) content and glutathione S-transferase activities. GSH S-transferase activities were monitored toward the substrates 1-chloro-2,4-dinitro-benzene (CDNB), 1,2-dichloro-4-nitrobenzene (DCNB) and 1,2-epoxy-3-(p-nitrophenoxy)propane (PO). All cell lines tested contained appreciable amounts of GSH ranging from 10 to 65 nmol/mg cellular protein. Likewise, all cell lines expressed GSH S-transferase activities. However, the various cell lines differed considerably in their relative transferase activities exhibiting some degree of species-specificity.