Glutathione reductase
Glutathione reductase also known as glutathione-disulfide reductase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the GSR gene. Glutathione reductase catalyzes the reduction of glutathione disulfide to the sulfhydryl form glutathione, which is a critical molecule in resisting oxidative stress and maintaining the reducing environment of the cell. Glutathione reductase functions as dimeric disulfide oxidoreductase and utilizes an FAD prosthetic group and NADPH to reduce one molar equivalent of GSSG to two molar equivalents of GSH:
The glutathione reductase is conserved between all kingdoms. In bacteria, yeasts, and animals, one glutathione reductase gene is found; however, in plant genomes, two GR genes are encoded. Drosophila and trypanosomes do not have any GR at all. In these organisms, glutathione reduction is performed by either the thioredoxin or the trypanothione system, respectively.
Function
plays a key role in maintaining proper function and preventing oxidative stress in human cells. It can act as a scavenger for hydroxyl radicals, singlet oxygen, and various electrophiles. Reduced glutathione reduces the oxidized form of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, which in turn reduces hydrogen peroxide, a dangerously reactive species within the cell. In addition, it plays a key role in the metabolism and clearance of xenobiotics, acts as a cofactor in certain detoxifying enzymes, participates in transport, and regenerates antioxidants such and Vitamins E and C to their reactive forms. The ratio of GSSG/GSH present in the cell is a key factor in properly maintaining the oxidative balance of the cell, that is, it is critical that the cell maintains high levels of the reduced glutathione and a low level of the oxidized glutathione disulfide. This narrow balance is maintained by glutathione reductase, which catalyzes the reduction of GSSG to GSH.Structure
Glutathione reductase from human erythrocytes is a homodimer consisting of 52Kd monomers, each containing 3 domains. GR exhibits single sheet, double layered topology where an anti-parallel beta-sheet is largely exposed to the solvent on one face while being covered by random coils on the other face. This includes and NADPH-binding Domain, FAD-binding domain and a dimerization domain. Each monomer contains 478 residues and one FAD molecule. GR is a thermostable protein, retaining function up to 65oC.Reaction mechanism
Steps:| 1 | NADPH binding to the oxidized enzyme |
| 2 | Reduction of FAD to FADH− anion by NADPH |
| 3 | Reduced FADH− anion collapses into a charge relay complex and reduces Cys58-Cys63 disulfide |
| 4 | Oxidized Glutathione disulfide binds to the reduced enzyme and forms a mixed disulfide with Cys58 and releases one reduced glutathione |
| 5 | Cys63 attacks the mixed disulfide on Cys58 to release a reduced glutathione and reform the redox active disulfide |
Reductive half
The action of GR proceeds through two distinct half reactions, a reductive half mechanism followed by an oxidative half. In the first half, NADPH reduces FAD present in GSR to produce a transient FADH− anion. This anion then quickly breaks a disulfide bond of Cys58 - Cys63, forming a short lived covalent bond a stable charge-transfer complex between the flavin and Cys63. The now oxidized NADP+ is released and is subsequently replaced by a new molecule of NADPH. This is the end of the so-called reductive half of the mechanism.Oxidative half
In the oxidative half of the mechanism, Cys63 nucleophilically attacks the nearest sulfide unit in the GSSG molecule, which creates a mixed disulfide bond and a GS− anion. His467 of GSR then protonates the GS- anion to release the first molecule of GSH. Next, Cys63 nucleophilically attacks the sulfide of Cys58, releasing a GS− anion, which, in turn, picks up a solvent proton and is released from the enzyme, thereby creating the second GSH. So, for every GSSG and NADPH, two reduced GSH molecules are gained, which can again act as antioxidants scavenging reactive oxygen species in the cell.Inhibition
In vitro, glutathione reductase is inhibited by low concentrations of sodium arsenite and methylated arsenate metabolites, but in vivo, significant Glutathione Reductase inhibition by sodium arsenate has only been at 10 mg/kg/day. Glutathione reductase is also inhibited by some flavanoids, a class of pigments produced by plants.Clinical significance
GSH is a key cellular antioxidant and plays a major role in the phase 2 metabolic clearance of electrophilic xenobiotics. The importance of the GSH pathway and enzymes that affect this delicate balance is gaining an increased level of attention in recent years. Although glutathione reductase has been an attractive target for many pharmaceuticals, there have been no successful glutathione reductase related therapeutic compounds created to date. In particular, glutathione reductase appears to be a good target for anti-malarials, as the glutathione reductase of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum has a significantly different protein fold than that of mammalian glutathione reductase. By designing drugs specific to p. falciparum it may be possible to selectively induce oxidative stress in the parasite, while not affecting the host.There are two main classes of GR targeting compounds:
- Inhibitors of GSSG binding, or dimerization: Reactive electrophiles such as gold compounds, and fluoronaphthoquinones.
- Drugs which use glutathione reductase to regenerate, such as redox cyclers. Two examples of these types of compounds are Methylene blue and Naphthoquinone.
In cells exposed to high levels of oxidative stress, like red blood cells, up to 10% of the glucose consumption may be directed to the pentose phosphate pathway for production of the NADPH needed for this reaction. In the case of erythrocytes, if the PPP is non-functional, then the oxidative stress in the cell will lead to cell lysis and anemia.
Lupus is an autoimmune disorder in which patients produce an elevated quantity of antibodies that attack DNA and other cell components. In a recent study, a single nucleotide polymorphism in the Glutathione Reductase gene was found to be highly associated with lupus in African Americans in the study. African Americans with lupus have also been shown to express less reduced glutathione in their T cells. The study's authors believe that reduced glutathione reductase activity may contribute to the increased production of reactive oxygen in African Americans with lupus.
In mice, glutathione reductase has been implicated in the oxidative burst, a component of the immune response. The oxidative burst is a defense mechanism in which neutrophils produce and release reactive oxidative species in the vicinity of bacteria or fungi to destroy the foreign cells. Glutathione Reductase deficient neutrophils were shown to produce a more transient oxidative burst in response to bacteria than neutrophils that express GR at ordinary levels. The mechanism of Glutathione Reductase in sustaining the oxidative burst is still unknown.
Deficiency
Glutathione reductase deficiency is a rare disorder in which the glutathione reductase activity is absent from erythrocytes, leukocytes or both. In one study this disorder was observed in only two cases in 15,000 tests for glutathione reductase deficiency performed over the course of 30 years. In the same study, glutathione reductase deficiency was associated with cataracts and favism in one patient and their family, and with severe unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia in another patient. It has been proposed that the glutathione redox system is almost exclusively responsible for the protecting of eye lens cells from hydrogen peroxide because these cells are deficient in catalase, an enzyme which catalyzes the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide, and the high rate of cataract incidence in glutathione reductase deficient individuals.Some patients exhibit deficient levels of glutathione activity as a result of not consuming enough riboflavin in their diets. Riboflavin is a precursor for FAD, whose reduced form donates two electron to the disulfide bond which is present in the oxidized form of glutathione reductase in order to begin the enzyme's catalytic cycle. In 1999, a study found that 17.8% of males and 22.4% of females examined in Saudi Arabia suffered from low glutathione reductase activity due to riboflavin deficiency.