In-vivo glutathione elevation protects against hydroxyl free radical- induced protein oxidation in rat brain

Glutathione deficiency has been associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases including Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's disease, and HIV. A crucial role for glutathione is as a free radical scavenger. Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain is characterized by oxidative stress, manifested by protein oxidation, lipid oxidation, oxidized glutathione, and decreased activity of glutathione S-transferase, among others. Reasoning that elevated levels of endogenous glutathione would offer protection against free radical-induced oxidative stress, rodents were given in vivo injections of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a known precursor of glutathione, to study the vulnerability of isolated synaptosomal membranes treated with Fe²⁺/H₂O₂, a known hydroxyl free radical producer. Protein carbonyls, a marker of protein oxidation, were measured. NAC significantly increased endogenous glutathione levels in cortical synaptosome cytosol (P<0.01). As reported previously, protein carbonyl levels of the Fe²⁺/H₂O₂-treated synaptosomes were significantly higher compared to that of non-treated controls (P<0.01), consistent with increased oxidative stress. In contrast, protein carbonyl levels in Fe²⁺/H₂O₂-treated synaptosomes isolated from NAC-injected animals were not significantly different from saline-injected non-treated controls, demonstrating protection against hydroxyl radical induced oxidative stress. These results are consistent with the notion that methods to increase endogenous glutathione levels in neurodegenerative diseases associated with oxidative stress, including AD, may be promising.