Role of cytoplasmic thioltransferase in cellular regulation by thiol-disulphide interchange.

Cytoplasmic thioltransferase purified from rat liver [Axelsson, Eriksson & Mannervik (1978) Biochemistry 17, 2978--2984] catalyses the formation and decomposition of mixed disulphides of proteins and glutathione. The enzyme was found to catalyse the reversible thiol-disulphide interchange between glutathione disulphide and a crude thiol-containing protein fraction from rat liver. This finding indicates a role of the thioltransferase in the regulation of the 'glutathione status' of the cell. Specifically, it was found that thioltransferase catalyses the reactivation of pyruvate kinase from rat liver that had previously been inactivated by glutathione disulphide. It is suggested that thioltransferase may have a general role in regulatory processes involving thiol-disulphide interchange.     

Release of thioltransferase from rabbit polymorphonuclear leucocytes by immune complex in vitro and inhibition of the enzyme by chloramphenicol

Immune complex induced the release of thioltransferase from rabbit peritoneal exudates polymorphonuclear leucocytes in vitro. The release of thioltransferase occurs from viable cells and does not depend on a cytolysis. The catalytic activity of the released enzyme with S-sulfocysteine and glutathione as substrates had a distinct optimum pH at 7.6. On the contrary, opsonized zymosan was not effective as a stimulus for the liberation of thioltransferase from polymorphonuclear leucocytes. Thioltransferase liberated by the stimulation with immune complex was inhibited by chloramphenicol, but not by bacitracin. The inhibition was non-competitive (apparent Ki of 0.2 mM).     

A putative glutathione-binding site in T4 glutaredoxin investigated by site-directed mutagenesis

A glutathione monomer has been docked into the active site cleft of T4 glutaredoxin (previously called T4 thioredoxin) using molecular graphics. The central part of the cleft is formed by the side chain of Tyr-16 on one side and the residues Thr-64, Met-65, and Pro-66 on the other. The entire glutathione molecule fits well into the cleft. A cis-peptide bond between the residues Met-65 and Pro-66 allows glutathione to bind in an anti-parallel fashion to residues 64-66. Hydrogen bonds can be formed between Met-65 and the glutathione cysteine. This binding positions the glutathione sulfur atom ideally for reaction with the glutaredoxin disulfide. In the model, glutathione can form a hydrogen bond to the hydroxyl group of Tyr-16. Charged interactions at opposite ends of the binding cleft are provided by His-12 and Asp-80. The negatively charged alpha-carboxyl group of glutathione may interact with a positive helix dipole of the protein. Fifteen mutant T4 glutaredoxins have been produced and assayed for glutathione binding by determining thioltransferase activity. Mutant proteins with substitutions in the sides of the cleft (Tyr-16, Pro-66) exhibited the most marked decreases in thioltransferase activity. Mutation of His-12 to a serine decreases the catalytic efficiency whereas substitution of Asp-80 by serine increases the catalytic efficiency. A double mutant, D80S;H12S, has much less affinity for glutathione than either single mutant. Substitution of Cys-14 produces an inactive protein, whereas C17S retains some thioltransferase activity.     

Relative contributions of thioltransferase-and thioredoxin-dependent systems in reduction of low-molecular-mass and protein disulphides.

Two enzyme systems capable of reducing disulphide bonds both in low-Mr compounds and in polypeptides and proteins exist. One consists of thioltransferase in combination with reduced glutathione and glutathione reductase, and the second consists of thioredoxin in combination with thioredoxin reductase. Their relative effectiveness in catalysing disulphide reduction of various substrates in rat liver cytosol was evaluated in the present study. The thioltransferase-dependent system was found to be more efficient in reducing small molecules. Insulin was most effectively reduced by the thioredoxin system. Bovine trypsin was a better substrate for thioltransferase, and partially proteolysed bovine serum albumin was equally good for the two systems. Thus, in the case of protein disulphide bonds, the nature of the particular substrate used determines which of the two reducing systems is the more important.     

Identification of the dehydroascorbic acid reductase and thioltransferase (Glutaredoxin) activities of bovine erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase

Bovine erythrocyte glutathione (GSH) peroxidase (GPX, EC 1.11.1.9) was examined for GSH-dependent dehydroascorbate (DHA) reductase (EC 1.8.5.1) and thioltransferase (EC 1.8.4.1) activities. Using the direct assay method for GSH-dependent DHA reductase activity, GPX had a kcat (app) of 140 +/- 9 min-1 and specificity constants (kcat/Km(app)) of 5.74 +/- 0.78 x 10(2) M-1s-1 for DHA and 1.18 +/- 0.17 x 10(3) M-1s-1 for GSH based on the monomer Mr of 22,612. Using the coupled assay method for thioltransferase activity, GPX had a kcat (app) of 186 +/- 9 min-1 and specificity constants (app) of 1. 49 +/- 0.14 x 10(3) M-1s-1 for S-sulfocysteine and 1.51 +/- 0.18 x 10(3) M-1s-1 for GSH based on the GPX monomer molecular weight. GPX has a higher specificity constant for S-sulfocysteine than DHA, and both assay systems gave nearly identical specificity constants for GSH. The DHA reductase and thioltransferase activities of GPX adds to the repertoire of functions of this enzyme as an important protector against cellular oxidative stress.     

Identification and reactivity of the catalytic site of pig liver thioltransferase

The active site cysteine of pig liver thioltransferase was identified as Cys22. The kinetics of the reaction between Cys22 of the reduced enzyme and iodoacetic acid as a function of pH revealed that the active site sulfhydryl group had a pKa of 2.5. Incubation of reduced enzyme with [1-14C]cysteine prevented the inactivation of the enzyme by iodoacetic acid at pH 6.5, and no stable protein-cysteine disulfide was found when the enzyme was separated from excess [1-14C]cysteine, suggesting an intramolecular disulfide formation. The results suggested a reaction mechanism for thioltransferase. The thiolated Cys22 first initiates a nucleophilic attack on a disulfide substrate, resulting in the formation of an unstable mixed disulfide between Cys22 and the substrate. Subsequently, the sulfhydryl group at Cys25 is deprotonated as a result of micro-environmental changes within the active site domain, releasing the mixed disulfide and forming an intramolecular disulfide bond. Reduced glutathione, the second substrate, reduces the intramolecular disulfide forming a transient mixed disulfide which is then further reduced by glutathione to regenerate the reduced enzyme and form oxidized glutathione. The rate-limiting step for a typical reaction between a disulfide and reduced glutathione is proposed to be the reduction of the intramolecular disulfide form of the enzyme by reduced glutathione.     

Acute cadmium exposure inactivates thioltransferase (Glutaredoxin), inhibits intracellular reduction of protein-glutathionyl-mixed disulfides, and initiates apoptosis

Oxidative stress broadly impacts cells, initiating regulatory pathways as well as apoptosis and necrosis. A key molecular event is protein S-glutathionylation, and thioltransferase (glutaredoxin) is a specific and efficient catalyst of protein-SSG reduction. In this study 30-min exposure of H9 and Jurkat cells to cadmium inhibited intracellular protein-SSG reduction, and this correlated with inhibition of the thioltransferase system, consistent with thioltransferase being the primary intracellular catalyst of deglutathionylation. The thioredoxin system contributed very little to total deglutathionylase activity. Thioltransferase and GSSG reductase in situ displayed similar dose-response curves (50% inhibition near 10 micrometer cadmium in extracellular buffer). Acute cadmium exposure also initiated apoptosis, with H9 cells being more sensitive than Jurkat. Moreover, transfection with antisense thioltransferase cDNA was incompatible with cell survival. Collectively, these data suggest that thioltransferase has a vital role in sulfhydryl homeostasis and cell survival. In separate experiments, cadmium inhibited the isolated component enzymes of the thioltransferase and thioredoxin systems, consistent with the vicinal dithiol nature of their active sites: thioltransferase (IC(50) approximately 1 micrometer), GSSG reductase (IC(50) approximately 1 micrometer), thioredoxin (IC(50) approximately 8 micrometer), thioredoxin reductase (IC(50) approximately 0.2 micrometer). Disruption of the vicinal dithiol on thioltransferase (via oxidation to C22-SS-C25; or C25S mutation) protected against cadmium, consistent with a dithiol chelation mechanism of inactivation.     

Thioltransferase in human red blood cells: purification and properties

Thioltransferase activity was identified and the enzyme purified to apparent homogeneity from human red blood cells. Activity was measured as glutathione-dependent reduction of the prototype substrate hydroxyethyl disulfide; formation of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) was coupled to NADPH oxidation by GSSG reductase (1 unit of activity = 1 mumol/min of NADPH oxidized). The thioltransferase-GSH-GSSG reductase system was shown also to catalyze the regeneration of hemoglobin from the mixed disulfide hemoglobin-S-S-glutathione (HbSSG) and to reactivate the metabolic control enzyme phosphofructokinase (PFK) after oxidation of its sulfhydryl groups. On a relative concentration basis, thioltransferase was about 1200 times more efficient than dithiothreitol in reactivation of phosphofructokinase; e.g., 500 microM DTT was required to effect the same extent of reactivation as that of 0.4 microM TTase. The GSH plus GSSG reductase system without thioltransferase was ineffective for reduction of HbSSG or reactivation of PFK. The average amount of thioltransferase in intact erythrocytes was calculated to be 4.6 units/g of Hb at 25 degrees C. This level of activity is about the same as those of other enzymes that participate in sulfhydryl maintenance in red blood cells, such as GSSG reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. These results suggest a physiological role for the thioltransferase in erythrocyte sulfhydryl homeostasis. Certain properties of the human erythrocyte thioltransferase resemble those of other mammalian thioltransferase and glutaredoxin enzymes. Thus, the human erythrocyte enzyme, purified about 28,000-fold to apparent homogeneity, is a single polypeptide with a molecular weight of 11,300. Its N-terminus is blocked, it is heat stable, and it contains four cysteine residues per protein molecule. However, the human erythrocyte thioltransferase is a distinct protein based on its amino acid composition. For example, it contains no methionine residues; whereas the related mammalian enzymes described to date have at least one internal methionine residue in their largely homologous sequences.     

Immunological characterization of thioltransferase from pig liver

Polyclonal antibodies against pig liver thioltransferase were raised in a New Zealand rabbit. These antibodies completely neutralized the thioltransferase activity of the homogeneous enzyme and that in the crude cytosolic homogenate at an equivalent titer. The antibodies also cross-reacted equally with calf thymus glutaredoxin and calf liver thioltransferase, but not with Escherichia coli thioredoxin, suggesting that thioltransferase and glutaredoxin from the same species are identical. Immunoblotting analysis of the cytosolic proteins from 14 different pig tissues revealed that most pig tissues contain a 12-kDa protein which reacts with these antibodies. This protein is found in greater abundance in stomach, small intestine, liver, skeletal muscle, kidney, heart, lung, and cerebral cortex, whereas retina, cerebellum, spleen, pancreas, and thymus have low levels of the protein. No reactive protein was detected in the lens. The tissue distribution of the protein was also determined by assay of the enzyme activity and was generally in good agreement with that obtained from the immunoblotting survey. Pig liver thioltransferase was cleaved by trypsin, chymotrypsin, Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease, and cyanogen bromide. The selected peptides purified by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography or ion exchange fast protein liquid chromatography were subjected to reaction with the polyclonal antibodies against pig liver thioltransferase. Four antigenically reactive fragments were detected by dot-blotting analysis. These peptides are located in the first 30-amino acid residues from the NH2 terminus and the sequence from amino acid residues 39-67, indicating that the active site of the enzyme, Cys22 and Cys25, is located on one of the antigenic determinant domains.     

Five decades with glutathione and the GSTome

Uncle Folke inspired me to become a biochemist by demonstrating electrophoresis experiments on butterfly hemolymph in his kitchen. Glutathione became the subject for my undergraduate project in 1964 and has remained a focal point in my research owing to its multifarious roles in the cell. Since the 1960s, the multiple forms of glutathione transferase (GST), the GSTome, were isolated and characterized, some of which were discovered in our laboratory. Products of oxidative processes were found to be natural GST substrates. Examples of toxic compounds against which particular GSTs provide protection include 4-hydroxynonenal and ortho-quinones, with possible links to the etiology of Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases and other degenerative conditions. The role of thioltransferase and glutathione reductase in the cellular reduction of disulfides and other oxidized forms of thiols was clarified. Glyoxalase I catalyzes still another glutathione-dependent detoxication reaction. The unusual steady-state kinetics of this zinc-containing enzyme initiated model discrimination by regression analysis. Functional properties of the enzymes have been altered by stochastic mutations based on DNA shuffling and rationally tailored by structure-based redesign. We found it useful to represent promiscuous enzymes by vectors or points in multidimensional substrate-activity space and visualize them by multivariate analysis. Adopting the concept "molecular quasi-species," we describe clusters of functionally related enzyme variants that may emerge in natural as well as directed evolution.     

Purification and properties of thioltransferase

A protein, previously designated thioltransferase (Askelof, P., Axelsson, K., Eriksson, S., and Mannervik, B. (1974) FEBS Lett. 38, 263-267) was purified to homogeneity as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and flatbed gel isoelectric focusing. The preparative procedure, a modification of that of Axelsson et al. (Axelsson, K., Eriksson, S., and Mannervik, B. (1978) Biochemistry 17, 2978-2984) and Hatakeyama et al. (Hatakeyama, M., Tanimoto, Y., and Mizoguchi, T. (1984) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 95, 1811-1818) was faster and higher-yielding than the previous procedures. The purified enzyme has a molecular weight of 11,700 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and a pI of 8.8. The amino acid composition of thioltransferase is reported, and it closely resembles that of calf thymus glutaredoxin. The optimal pH for this enzyme was 8.5 when S-sulfocysteine was used as a substrate. The plots of the activity of thioltransferase as a function of S-sulfocysteine and 2-hydroxyethyl disulfide concentrations showed sigmoidal relationships. The K0.5 for S-sulfocysteine was 0.6 mM. The enzyme was very sensitive to sulfhydryl alkylating reagents. Preincubation of the enzyme with disulfide compounds prevented the enzyme from inactivation by iodoacetamide but inhibited the thioltransferase activity in the absence of iodoacetamide. The results suggest that the active center of thioltransferase is cysteine dependent and that substrates may form mixed disulfides with the enzyme. Based on the iodoacetamide inactivation and disulfide protection of thioltransferase activity, a model for the catalytic mechanism of the thiol-disulfide oxidoreduction is proposed.     

Mammalian thioltransferase (glutaredoxin) and protein disulfide isomerase have dehydroascorbate reductase activity

Homogeneous native and recombinant porcine liver thioltransferase (glutaredoxin), bovine thymus and human placenta thioltransferase (glutaredoxin) were examined for dehydroascorbate reductase activity (EC 1.8.5.1) involving the direct catalytic reduction of dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) by glutathione. Each enzyme had substantial activity with apparent Km and Vmax for dehydroascorbate between 0.2 and 2.2 mM and 6-27 nmol min-1, respectively, and for gluathione between 1.6 and 8.7 mM and 11-30 nmol min-1, respectively. In the presence of purified bovine liver thioredoxin reductase, homogeneous bovine liver thioredoxin failed to reduce DHA to ascorbic acid as measured by NADPH oxidation. Highly purified bovine liver protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) reacted directly with DHA and GSH to catalyze the reduction of DHA to ascorbic acid. The apparent Km for DHA was 1.0 mM and the Vmax was 8 nmol min-1, and for GSH were 3.9 mM and 14 nmol min-1, respectively. These results suggest that thioltransferase and PDI contribute to the regeneration of oxidized ascorbic acid in mammalian cells, and based on their cellular location, thioltransferase is proposed to be the major cytoplasmic activity, whereas interaction of DHA with microsomal membrane PDI may catalyze regeneration of ascorbic acid and initiate oxidation of intralumenal protein thiols to disulfides.     

Activities of sulfhydryl-related and phenylpropanoid-synthesizing enzymes during the germination ofArabidopsis thaliana seeds

Seeds ofArabidopsis thaliana were sowed in a Murashige and Skoog’s medium and incubated in a tissue culture chamber at 26.2°C. They appeared to germinate at 60–72 hours after sowing. We measured the time-course activities of sulfhydryl-related enzymes such as thioredoxin, thioltransferase (glutaredoxin), thioredoxin reductase, and glutathione reductase. The activities of two enzymes, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and tyrosine ammonia-lyase, which are involved in phenylpropanoid synthesis, were also measured and compared. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity increased from 48 hours after sowing, whereas tyrosine ammonia-lyase activity increased transiently at the early stage and decreased slightly afterwards. Thioredoxin activity gradually decreased during the germination process. However, thioltransferase activity increased drastically from 60 hours after sowing. Thioredoxin reductase and glutathione reducatase increased rapidly from 36 hours after sowing. Thioredoxin activity was found to be relatively high in the dormant seeds.     

Acetaminophen-induced oxidation of protein thiols. Contribution of impaired thiol-metabolizing enzymes and the breakdown of adenine nucleotides

The administration of a hepatotoxic dose of acetaminophen (250 mg/kg) to mice induced the loss of protein thiols in mouse liver. Our data suggest that a significant portion of this loss was due to protein thiol oxidation. The administration of the nonhepatotoxic regioisomer, 3'-hydroxyacetanilide (600 mg/kg) did not produce a similar decrease in liver protein thiols despite producing similar levels of covalent binding. Mice treated with acetaminophen exhibited decreased glutathione peroxidase activity, decreased thioltransferase activity, and decreased adenine nucleotide concentrations in the liver. The increase in urinary allantoin after the administration of acetaminophen suggests that the decrease in adenine nucleotides was due to their degradation in the liver. Acetaminophen also promoted the conversion of the enzyme xanthine dehydrogenase to the oxidase form, and pretreatment of mice with allopurinol, an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, significantly decreased acetaminophen-mediated hepatotoxicity. The conversion of xanthine dehydrogenase to the oxidase form may lead to a transient increase in the production of activated oxygen species. The increase in activated oxygen species coupled with decreases in glutathione peroxidase and thioltransferase activity may be responsible in part for the increased levels of oxidized protein thiols observed following acetaminophen administration.     

Evolution of antioxidant mechanisms: Thiol-Dependent peroxidases and thioltransferase among procaryotes

Summary Glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase both utilize glutathione (GSH) to destroy organic hydroperoxides, and these enzymes are thought to serve an antioxidant function in mammalian cells by catalyzing the destruction of lipid hydroperoxides. Only two groups of procaryotes, the purple bacteria and the cyanobacteria, produce GSH, and we show in the present work that representatives from these two groups (Escherichia coli, Beneckea alginolytica, Rhodospirillum rubrum, Chromatium vinosum, andAnabaena sp. strain 7119) lack significant glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase activities. This finding, coupled with the general absence of polyunsaturated fatty acids in procaryotes, suggests that GSH-dependent peroxidases evolved in eucaryotes in response to the need to protect against polyunsaturated fatty acid oxidation. A second antioxidant function of GSH is mediated by glutathione thiol-transferase, which catalyzes the reduction of various cellular disulfides by GSH. Two of the five GSH-producing bacteria studied (E. coli andB. alginolytica) produced higher levels of glutathione thiol-transferase than found in rat liver, whereas the activity was absent in the other three species studied. The halobacteria produced γ-glutamylcysteine rather than GSH, and assays for γ-glutamylcysteine-dependent enzymes demonstrated an absence of peroxidase and S-transferase activities but the presence of significant thioltransferase activity. Based upon these results it appears that GSH and γ-glutamylcysteine do not function in bactera as antioxidants directed against organic hydroperoxides but do play a significant, although not universal, role in main-taining disulfides in a reduced state. The function of GSH in the photosynthetic bacteria, aside from providing a form of cysteine resistant toward autoxidation, remains a puzzle, as none of the GSH-dependent enzymes tested other than glutathione reductase were present in these organisms.     

Protective effect of reduced glutathione against cisplatin-induced renal and systemic toxicity and its influence on the therapeutic activity of the antitumor drug

Reduced glutathione has been shown to be an effective protector against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity of potential clinical value, since it does not reduce antitumor activity of the cytotoxic drug. This paper extends previous observations on the protective potential of reduced glutathione against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity, in different rodent models. Following i.v. administration, glutathione protection against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity was found to be critically dependent on timing of thiol administration. Whereas the sulfhydryl compound provided almost complete protection in CD rats, the protective effect against toxic renal damage was only partial in mice of different strains. In spite of the modest protection against kidney toxicity, glutathione reduced lethal toxicity in the mouse. Under the same experimental conditions at protective dose levels, the tripeptide thiol did not interfere with the antitumor effectiveness of cisplatin, in any of the tumor models examined. The kidney content of non-protein sulfhydryls of CD rats produced by the effective dose of glutathione was markedly higher than that found in the mouse treated with the same dose. This finding is consistent with a differential protection provided by glutathione against cisplatin-induced renal toxicity in these species.     

Yeast thioltransferase--the active site cysteines display differential reactivity

Thioltransferase, catalyzing thiol-disulfide interchange between reduced glutathione and disulfides, was purified to homogeneity from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The purification procedure included ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-50 gel filtration, CM-Sepharose ion exchange chromatography, and C18 reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography. Two thioltransferase activity peaks were resolved by CM-Sepharose chromatography. The protein from the major peak had a molecular weight of 12 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis while the minor peak protein migrated slightly faster in this gel system. Both proteins showed similar amino acid compositions and identical N-termini. The major peak of thioltransferase was extensively characterized. Plots of thioltransferase activity as a function of S-sulfocysteine or hydroxyethyl disulfide concentration did not show normal Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The enzyme activity had a pH optimum of 9.1. The protein has 106 amino acid residues with two cysteines and no arginine. The active site amino acid sequence of the enzyme was identified as Cys26-Pro-Tyr-Cys29, which is similar to that of mammalian thioltransferase and Escherichia coli glutaredoxin. The two cysteines at the active site displayed different reactivities to iodoacetamide. Cys26 was alkylated by iodoacetamide at pH 3.5 while Cys29 was alkylated at pH 8.0. The enzyme was completely inactivated when the Cys26 was carboxymethylated. A plot of incorporation of iodoacetamide into Cys29 at different pHs was similar to the pH dependence of the enzyme activity. The result suggested that Cys26 could readily initiate nucleophilic attack on disulfide substrates at physiological pH.     

Preparation of homogeneous pig liver thioltransferase by a thiol:disulfide mediated pI shift

An enzyme catalyzing thiol-disulfide exchange, thioltransferase, was purified to homogeneity from pig liver. By taking advantage of the relatively large pI shift of the enzyme between its reduced and disulfide forms, the purification procedure, which included a heat step, ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-75 and G-50 gel chromatography, and two CM-Sepharose chromatography separations, resulted in a 32% overall yield. The purified enzyme was demonstrated to be homogeneous by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, and high-performance liquid chromatography. The protein had a Mr of approximately 11,000 and, in the reduced form, a pI of 6.4. The amino acid composition of the enzyme was similar to that of rat liver thioltransferase and calf thymus glutaredoxin and the N-terminus of the protein was blocked. The optimal pH for the enzyme activity was 9.0. The plots of thioltransferase activity as a function of S-sulfocysteine, 2-hydroxyethyl disulfide, and reduced glutathione concentrations did not display Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The enzyme was very sensitive to a sulfhydryl alkylating reagent. Preincubation of the enzyme with its disulfide substrates prevented the inactivation of the enzyme by iodoacetic acid while the other substrate, GSH, did not provide such protection. The results suggest that the active center of thioltransferase is cysteine dependent.     

Regulation of hormonal and secretory granule membrane disulfides by adenohypophysial gluthion: disulfide oxidoreductase

An NADPH-dependent glutathione: disulfide oxidoreductase (thiol-transferase) has been identified in and partially purified (12.3-fold) from adenohypophysial cytosol. The enzyme is specific for NADPH and reduced glutatione, but the disulfide substrates include a wide size range (glutathione, cystine, RNase, oxytocin, vasopressin, monomeric and oligomeric growth hormone and prolactin). It also utilizes secretory granule membrane proteins. Substrate specificity studies (including utilization of cystine and failure to utilize insulin) and physico-chemical properties (M.W. 180,000) distinguish this enzyme from other glutathione: disulfide oxidoreductases. This thioltransferase may play a regulatory role in the hormone secretory process by control of the thiol: disulfide oxidation state of disulfide-bonded oligomers or of granule membrane proteins.     

Reduction of disulphide bonds in proteins mixed disulphides catalysed by a thioltransferase in rat liver cytosol.

The reduction of mixed disulphides of some proteins and GSH [Protein(-SSG)n] is accomplished with GSH as a reductant and a thioltransferase from rat liver as a catalyst, thus: See article. The spontaneous reaction is negligible in comparison with the enzymic reaction in vivo, and any direct reduction with glutathione reductase is not detectable with the substrates used. The reduction is only indirectly dependent on NADPH, which is required for the regeneration of GSH from GSSG. Other protein disulphides apparently are reduced via analogous GSH-dependent reactions