The reduction of oxidized glutathione in erythrocyte haemolysates in pernicious anaemia

Abstract

The reduction of oxidized glutathione to the reduced form in erythrocyte hemolysates containing glucose-6-phosphate and oxidized triphosphopyridine nucleotide has been used as the basis for estimating glutathione-reductase activity and the concentrations of oxidized glutathione, triphosphopyridine nucleotide-reducible substrates and total triphosphopyridine nucleotide. These estimations, together with that of reduced glutathione, have been performed on hemolysates from erythrocytes from 10 normal human subjects and 7 with pernicious anemia. In untreated pernicious anemia, the concentrations of reduced glutathione, glutathione reductase and triphosphopyridine nucleotide were within the normal range whereas in 3 cases those of oxidized glutathione and triphosphopyridine nucleotide-reducing substrates were above it. After treatment with vitamin B12, the oxidized glutathione appeared to be converted into reduced glutathione, and the concentration of triphosphopyridine nucleotide-reducing substrates fell to within the normal range. The significance of these findings is discussed and the suggestion made that vitamin B12 plays a part in inhibiting the oxidation of reduced glutathione.