Novel roles for glutathione in gene expression, cell death, and membrane transport of organic solutes

The tripeptide glutathione (GSH) is one of the most intensively studied intracellular solutes due to the critical role that it plays in cell biochemistry and physiology. GSH is required for the maintenance of the thiol redox status of the cell, protection against oxidative damage, detoxification of endogenous and exogenous reactive metals and electrophiles, storage and transport of cysteine, as well as for protein and DNA synthesis, cell cycle regulation and cell differentiation [1–4]. Changes in GSH homeostasis have been implicated in the etiology and progression of a number of human diseases, and have been documented after exposure to a variety of environmental chemicals and drugs [2,5].