Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a family of enzymes involved in the detoxification of a wide range of chemicals including chemical carcinogens. Human cytosolic GSTs are divided into four major classes; alpha, mu, pi and theta. This study was performed to evaluate the influence of age and gender on the GST isoenzyme expression and glutathione (GSH) content in lymphocytes. Blood was collect...

It has been reported that individuals who express GSTT1, the gene coding for the theta class of the glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), have an elevated risk of prostate cancer (CaP). This result is supported by studies that show glutathione conjugation of some xenobiotics by the GSTs can produce mutagenic intermediates. However, the potential role of environmental factors in modifying the risk ...

Exposure to environmental hazards has been associated with diseases in humans. The identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in human populations exposed to different environmental hazards, is vital for detecting the genetic risks of some important human diseases. Several studies in this field have been conducted on glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), a phase II detoxification sup...

Human glutathione transferases (GSTs) from Alpha (A), Mu (M) and Theta (T) classes exhibited glutathione peroxidase activity towards phospholipid hydroperoxide. The specific activities are in the order: GST A1-1>GST T1-1>GST M1-1>GST A2-2>GST A4-4. Using a specific and sensitive HPLC method, specific activities towards the phospholipid hydroperoxide,1-palmitoyl-2-(13-hydroper oxy-cis-9, trans-1...

Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is a phytochemical associated with plant defense in plants from the Brassicaceae family. AITC has long been recognized as a countermeasure against external threats, but recent reports suggest that AITC is also involved in the onset of defense-related mechanisms such as the regulation of stomatal aperture. However, the underlying cellular modes of action in plants rem...

BACKGROUND Parinari curatellifolia and Combretum zeyheri are medicinal plants used in Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries for stomach ailments, fever, body aches, wound healing, cancer and tuberculosis. Glutathione transferases (GSTs) are mammalian enzymes that play a significant role in the detoxification and metabolism of many xenobiotic and endogenous compounds and as such can inte...

In the present work, we report a novel class of glutathione transferases (GSTs) originated from the pathogenic soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58, with structural and catalytic properties not observed previously in prokaryotic and eukaryotic GST isoenzymes. A GST-like sequence from A. tumefaciens C58 (Atu3701) with low similarity to other characterized GST family of enzymes was identi...

Reactive intermediates are a continuous burden in biology and several defense mechanisms have evolved. Here we focus on the functions of glutathione transferases (GSTs) with the aim to discuss the quantitative aspects of defense against reactive intermediates. Humans excrete approximately 0.1 mmol of thioether conjugates per day. As the amount of GST active sites in liver is approximately 0.5 m...

Butyrate, formed by bacterial fermentation of plant foods, has been suggested to reduce colon cancer risks by suppressing the proliferation of tumor cells. In addition, butyrate has been shown to induce glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) in tumor cell lines, which may contribute to the detoxification of dietary carcinogens. We hypothesize that butyrate also affects biotransformation in non-trans...

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) are anti-oxidant enzyme genes. Polymorphisms of GSTs, SOD2 and NQO1 have been reported to influence individual susceptibility to various diseases. In an earlier study, we obtained preliminary findings that a subset of glutathione S-transferase T1 (GSTT1)-wt patients with varicocele may e...