Nitric oxide-dependent induction of glutathione synthesis through increased expression of γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase

Douglas Moellering, Joanne McAndrew, Rakesh P. Patel, Trudy Cornwell, Tom Lincoln, Xu Cao, Joseph L. Messina, Henry Jay Forman, Hanjoong Jo, Victor M. Darley-Usmar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

108 Scopus citations

Abstract

The nitric oxide (NO) donors S-nitrosopenicillamine or DetaNONOate, which release NO at a rate of 0-15 nM sec-1, were exposed to rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells for a period of 0-24 h. This treatment resulted in an increase in total glutathione levels of two- to threefold under conditions where no cytotoxicity was detected. The signaling pathways do not involve activation of protein kinase G Iα nor are they cGMP dependent. Oxidation of reduced glutathione (GSH) was found after exposure to NO for 3- 4 h at rates of formation at or above 8 nM sec-1. Increased intracellular GSH was due to enhanced expression of the rate-limiting enzyme for GSH synthesis, γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase. Since NO has been shown previously to protect cells against oxidative stress, we propose that the increase in GSH by NO is a potential mechanism for enhancing the antioxidant defenses of the cell. This result also has important implications for identifying redox- sensitive cell signaling pathways that can be activated by NO.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)74-82
Number of pages9
JournalArchives of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Volume358
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 1998
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Glutathione
  • Hydrogen peroxide
  • Nitric oxide
  • γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biophysics
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology

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