Role of glutathione on cell adhesion and volume

Abstract

AbstractGlutathione is the most abundant thiol in animal cells. Reduced glutathione (GSH) is a major intracellular antioxidant neutralizing free radicals and detoxifying electrophiles. It plays important roles in many cellular processes, including cell differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. In the present study we demonstrate that extracellular concentration of reduced glutathione markedly increases cell volume within few hours, in a dose-response manner. Pre-incubation of cells with BSO, the inhibitor of 7-glutamylcysteine synthetase, responsible for the first step in intracellular glutathione synthesis did not change the effect of reduced glutathione on cell volume suggesting a mechanism limited to the interaction of extracellular reduced glutathione on cell membrane. Results show that reduced GSH decreases cell adhesion resulting in an increased cell volume. Since many cell types are able to transport of GSH out, the present results suggest that this could be a fundamental self-regulation of cell volume, giving the cells a self-control on their adhesion proteins.