抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

To cope with environmental fluctuations and to prevent invasion by pathogens, plant metabolism must be flexible and dynamic. Active oxygen species, whose formation is accelerated under stress conditions, must be rapidly processed if oxidative damage is to be averted. The lifetime of active oxygen species within the cellular environment is determined by the antioxidative system, which provides crucial protection against oxidative damage. The antioxidative system comprises numerous enzymes and compounds of low molecular weight. While research into the former has benefited greatly from advances in molecular technology, the pathways by which the latter are synthesized have received comparatively little attention. The present review emphasizes the roles of ascorbate and glutathione in plant metabolism and stress tolerance. We provide a detailed account of current knowledge of the biosynthesis, compartmentation, and transport of these two important antioxidants, with emphasis on the unique insights and advances gained by molecular exploration.

ASCORBATE AND GLUTATHIONE: Keeping Active Oxygen Under Control

BIOE 402. Medical Technology Assessment. 2 or 3 hours. Bioentrepreneur course. Assessment of medical technology in the context of commercialization. Objectives, competition, market share, funding, pricing, manufacturing, growth, and intellectual property; many issues unique to biomedical products. Course Information: 2 undergraduate hours. 3 graduate hours. Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or above and consent of the instructor.

“Bioinformatics” 특집을 내면서

http://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/corefacilities/esr/publications/buettnerpubs/pdf/FRBM-2001-30-1191-FQS-Redox.pdf

Redox environment of the cell as viewed through the redox state of the glutathione disulfide/glutathione couple.

Glutathione (gamma-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine; GSH) is the most abundant low-molecular-weight thiol, and GSH/glutathione disulfide is the major redox couple in animal cells. The synthesis of GSH from glutamate, cysteine, and glycine is catalyzed sequentially by two cytosolic enzymes, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase and GSH synthetase. Compelling evidence shows that GSH synthesis is regulated primarily by gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase activity, cysteine availability, and GSH feedback inhibition. Animal and human studies demonstrate that adequate protein nutrition is crucial for the maintenance of GSH homeostasis. In addition, enteral or parenteral cystine, methionine, N-acetyl-cysteine, and L-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylate are effective precursors of cysteine for tissue GSH synthesis. Glutathione plays important roles in antioxidant defense, nutrient metabolism, and regulation of cellular events (including gene expression, DNA and protein synthesis, cell proliferation and apoptosis, signal transduction, cytokine production and immune response, and protein glutathionylation). Glutathione deficiency contributes to oxidative stress, which plays a key role in aging and the pathogenesis of many diseases (including kwashiorkor, seizure, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, liver disease, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, HIV, AIDS, cancer, heart attack, stroke, and diabetes). New knowledge of the nutritional regulation of GSH metabolism is critical for the development of effective strategies to improve health and to treat these diseases.

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Glutathione Metabolism and Its Implications for Health

Publisher Summary There are a number of procedures, for example, chemical, enzymatic, and chromatographic for the determination of glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) in biological samples. Enzymatic and chromatographic methods for the determination of glutathione in biological samples are described in this chapter. Because GSH readily oxidizes nonenzymatically and because it is a good substrate of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, the biological samples are acidified quickly to reduce oxidation of GSH to GSSG and to mixed disulfides, and to inactivate γ-glutamyl transpeptidase. Glutathione oxidizes rapidly at pH values greater than 7. Acid treatment inactivates γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, which catalyzes the reactions that decrease the levels of both GSH and GSSG. The optimum method for treating biological samples depends upon the tissue and the experimental system. The discussed 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB)-GSSG reductase recycling assay for total glutathione is a specific, sensitive, rapid, and reliable procedure. However, because the method depends on an accurate standard curve, appropriate standards containing the protein precipitating agent are essential.

Determination of glutathione and glutathione disulfide in biological samples.

Exposure of human ovarian tumor cell lines to cisplatin led to development of cell lines that exhibited increasing degrees of drug resistance, which were closely correlated with increase of the levels of cellular glutathione. Cell lines were obtained that showed 30- to 1000-fold increases in resistance; these cells also had strikingly increased (13- to 50-fold) levels of glutathione as compared with the drug-sensitive cells of origin. These levels of resistance to cisplatin and the cellular glutathione levels are substantially greater than previously reported. Very high cisplatin resistance was associated with enhanced expression of mRNAs for gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase; immunoblots showed increase of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase but not of glutathione synthetase. Glutathione S-transferase activity was unaffected, as determined with chlorodinitrobenzene as a substrate. These studies suggest the potential value of examining regulation of glutathione synthesis as an indicator of clinical prognosis. The highly resistant cell lines are proving useful for studying the multiple mechanisms by which tumor cells acquire drug- and radiation-resistance.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/89/7/3070.full.pdf

High resistance to cisplatin in human ovarian cancer cell lines is associated with marked increase of glutathione synthesis.

Glutathione: an overview of biosynthesis and modulation.

Experimental modulation of cellular glutathione levels has been used to explore the role of glutathione in cadmium toxicity. Mice treated with buthionine sulfoximine [an effective irreversible inhibitor of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (EC 6.3.2.2) that decreases cellular levels of glutathione markedly] were sensitized to the toxic effects of CdCl2. Mice pretreated with a sublethal dose of Cd2+ to induce metallothionein synthesis were not sensitized to Cd2+ by buthionine sulfoximine. Mice sensitized to Cd2+ by buthionine sulfoximine were protected against a lethal dose of Cd2+ by glutathione mono isopropyl ester (L-gamma-glutamyl-L-cysteinylglycylisopropyl ester), but not by glutathione. These results are in accord with studies that showed that glutathione mono esters (in contrast to glutathione) are efficiently transported into cells and converted intracellularly to glutathione. The findings indicate that intracellular glutathione functions in protection against Cd2+ toxicity, and that this tripeptide provides a first line of defense against Cd2+ before induction of metallothionein synthesis occurs. The experimental approach used here in which cellular levels of glutathione are decreased or increased seems applicable to investigation of other types of metal toxicity and of other glutathione-dependent biological phenomena.

Mary E. Anderson

Papers

Determination of glutathione and glutathione disulfide in biological samples.

High resistance to cisplatin in human ovarian cancer cell lines is associated with marked increase of glutathione synthesis.

Glutathione: an overview of biosynthesis and modulation.

Glutathione, a first line of defense against cadmium toxicity.

Catalytic and regulatory properties of the heavy subunit of rat kidney gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase.