• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.218-223
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• 2003

Effect of taurine treatment on metabolism of glutathione (GSH) was studied in adult male ICR mice. An acute injection of taurine (250 mg/kg, ip) resulted in a significant decline of hepatic GSH level at t = 6 hr, but plasma GSH level was not altered. The activity of GSH-related enzyme in liver, such as GSH peroxidase, GSSG reductase, GSH S-transferases, ${\gamma}$-glutamylcysteine synthetase or ${\gamma}$-glutamyltranspeptidase, was not affected by taurine at t = 2.5 or 6 hr. Plasma cysteine and cystine levels were elevated rapidly following taurine treatment. Hepatic cysteine level was decreased by taurine, reaching a level approximately 70％ of control at t = 4 and 6 hr. In conclusion, the results indicate that an acute dose of taurine decreases hepatic GSH level by reducing the availability of cysteine, an essential substrate for synthesis of this tripeptide in liver. It is also suggested that taurine may decrease the cysteine uptake by competing with this S-amino acid for a non-specific amino acid transporter.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.326-331
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• 2003

The fission yeast cells that contained the cloned glutathione synthetase (GS) gene showed 1.4-fold higher glutathione (GSB) content and 1.9-fold higher GS activity than the cells without the cloned GS gene. Interestingly, $\gamma$-glutamylcysteine synthetase activity increased 2.1-fold in the S. pombe cells that contained the cloned GS gene. The S. pombe cells that harbored the multi copy-number plasmid pRGS49 (containing the cloned GS gene) showed a higher level of survival on solid media with cadmium chloride (1 mM) or mercuric chloride ($10\;{\mu}M$) than the cells that harbored the YEp357R vector. The 506 bp upstream sequence from the translational initiation point and N-terminal8 amino acid-coding region were fused into the promoteriess $\beta$-galactosidase gene of the shuttle vector YEp367R to generate the fusion plasmid pUGS39. Synthesis of $\beta$-galactosidase from the fusion plasmid pUGS39 was significantly enhanced by cadmium chloride and NO-generating S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) and sodium nitroprusside (SN). It was also induced by L-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine, a specific inhibitor of $\gamma$-glutamylcysteine synthetase (GCS). We also found that the expression of the S. pombe GS gene is regulated by the Atf1-Spc1-Wis1 signal pathway.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.267-274
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• 2010

We assessed the effect of Se-methylselenocysteine (MSC) treatment, at a dose of 0.75 mg/rat/day for 1 or 2 weeks, on the activities of antioxidant systems in Sprague-Dawley rat tissues. Significant changes in glutathione and antioxidant enzyme activities, with different patterns among tissues, were evidenced. Glutathione content and its reduction state in the liver, lung, and kidney were elevated upon MSC treatment, whereas they were significantly lowered in the spleen. Among the tissues exhibiting glutathione increase, there were different enzymatic responses: $\gamma$-glutamylcysteine ligase activity, the rate-limiting enzyme in the glutathione synthesis pathway, was increased in the liver, whereas the activities of the enzymes associated with glutathione recycling, namely, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, were significantly increased in the lung and the kidney. The superoxide dismutase activity was decreased in all tissues upon MSC treatment, whereas catalase activity was increased in all tissues but the liver. Lipid peroxidation level was transiently increased at 1 week in the lung and the kidney, whereas it was persistently increased in the spleen. The increase was not evident in the liver. The results indicate that the MSC treatment results in an increase in the antioxidant capacity of the liver, lung, and kidney principally via an increase in glutathione content and reduction, which appeared to be a result of increased synthesis or recycling of glutathione via tissue-dependent adaptive response to oxidative stress triggered by MSC. The spleen appeared to be very sensitive to oxidative stress, and therefore, the adaptive response could not provide protection against oxidative damage.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.313-320
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• 2011

The oxidative stress level and antioxidant activities in two green algae (Ulva pertusa and Ulva linza), two brown algae (Agarum cribrosum and Dictyota dichotoma), and three red algae (Grateloupia lanceolata, Carpopeltis affinis, and Gracilaria verrucosa) collected from intertidal regions of Korea were assessed. In the two green algae, although the total glutathione content was not as high as that of the brown algae, the glutathione pool was extremely reduced, and the glutathione reductase (GRd)/glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity ratio was high, which apparently plays an important role for protection against oxidative damage, as manifested by low lipid peroxidation. In the brown algae, which exhibited a low lipid peroxidation level that was comparable to the green algal species, the highest glutathione content, together with high GPx activity, appears to be the most important factor in their antioxidant protection. The red algal species exhibited extremely high lipid peroxidation levels. They also contained the lowest and most oxidized glutathione among the species, as well as the lowest GRd activity. In spite of the marked difference in the glutathione content, the significant difference in the activity of ${\gamma}$-glutamylcysteine ligase, the rate limiting enzyme for glutathione synthesis, among the species was not exhibited. Our results suggest that there is a significant difference in the levels of oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity among the algal species, and that the glutathione system, especially the efficiency of glutathione recycling, plays a vital role in antioxidative protection in algal species.