Everything below concerns redox balance. We keep the language plain, cite what the science says, and separate well-supported claims from open questions.
Last reviewed on 2026-06-07. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Within cells, glutathione serves as a cofactor for glutathione peroxidases and glutathione S-transferases. These enzymes reduce hydrogen peroxide and organic peroxides or conjugate electrophilic compounds to the thiol group. The resulting conjugates can be exported and processed through mercapturic acid pathways. Glutathione also contributes to protein thiol homeostasis and to recycling of other antioxidants such as ascorbate. Its precise roles vary by tissue, and many regulatory effects observed in laboratory systems remain difficult to quantify in whole organisms.
Glutathione is a tripeptide composed of glutamate, cysteine, and glycine. It occurs in nearly all living cells, with highest concentrations in liver, kidney, and red blood cells, and exists in reduced (GSH) and oxidized disulfide (GSSG) forms. The cysteine thiol group enables reversible oxidation and reduction reactions. This property makes glutathione a central participant in cellular redox balance. The balance between these forms is often used as an indicator of oxidative stress.
Glutathione serves as a cofactor for several enzymes, including glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase. These enzymes help reduce hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxides, and they conjugate reactive electrophiles for excretion. The molecule also acts as a reservoir for cysteine, an amino acid that is prone to oxidation. In addition, glutathione participates in the metabolism of nitric oxide, leukotrienes, and prostaglandins. Its roles extend to cell signaling, apoptosis, and the regulation of protein function through S-glutathionylation.
Glutathione is a tripeptide composed of glutamate, cysteine, and glycine, and it is the most abundant non-protein thiol in most living cells. The reduced form, GSH, carries a sulfhydryl group that can donate electrons, while the oxidized form, GSSG, forms when two GSH molecules link via a disulfide bond. The balance between these two forms helps define the cellular redox environment, and their ratio is often used as an indicator of oxidative stress. Because the sulfhydryl group is reactive, glutathione participates in many cellular processes, including detoxification and protein regulation.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Common name | Glutathione | Reduced form is abbreviated GSH |
| Chemical class | Tripeptide | Composed of glutamate, cysteine, and glycine |
| Molar mass | 307.32 g/mol | For reduced glutathione |
| CAS Registry Number | 70-18-8 | For reduced L-glutathione |
| Appearance | White crystalline powder | Typical solid reference material |
In cells, glutathione helps maintain the reducing environment of the cytosol and supports enzymes that counteract reactive oxygen species. It acts as a cofactor for glutathione peroxidases, which reduce hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxides, and for glutathione S-transferases, which conjugate electrophiles. The ratio of GSH to GSSG is often used as an indicator of oxidative stress, although the ratio can vary by compartment and cell type. Glutathione also stores cysteine, an amino acid that can be limiting for protein synthesis and antioxidant defense.
Synthesis occurs in two ATP-dependent steps. The enzyme glutamate-cysteine ligase joins glutamate and cysteine to form gamma-glutamylcysteine, and glutathione synthetase adds glycine. The first step is rate-limiting and is influenced by cysteine availability and feedback inhibition by GSH. Breakdown involves gamma-glutamyl transferase and subsequent peptidases, which release constituent amino acids for reuse. Because turnover differs among tissues, measurements from blood, plasma, and tissues are not directly interchangeable. Research continues to clarify how compartment-specific pools are regulated in health and disease.
Glutathione is a tripeptide composed of glutamate, cysteine, and glycine. It contains an unusual gamma-glutamyl bond between glutamate and cysteine, which resists cleavage by many peptidases. The reduced form, GSH, carries a thiol group on cysteine and is the dominant intracellular form in most cells. Its structure allows it to participate in redox reactions and to serve as a sulfur donor. The oxidized form, GSSG, consists of two GSH molecules joined by a disulfide bond.
Quantifying glutathione requires distinguishing GSH from GSSG and preventing oxidation during sample preparation. Common approaches include the enzymatic recycling assay, often called the Tietze method, which measures total glutathione after converting GSSG to GSH. HPLC with ultraviolet or fluorescence detection and LC-MS/MS can separate and quantify both forms, sometimes after derivatization of the thiol group. Blood, plasma, and tissue samples differ in matrix and baseline concentrations, so method validation must account for recovery, linearity, and interference. No single assay is universally standard.
Glutathione is most stable as a dry powder stored cool and dry, but its thiol group is readily oxidized in solution. Aqueous preparations at neutral or alkaline pH lose GSH faster because the thiolate form reacts with dissolved oxygen and metal ions. Acidic conditions, chelating agents, and oxygen exclusion can slow oxidation, while repeated freeze-thaw cycles promote degradation. Light exposure and trace metals also contribute to loss. Laboratories typically validate stability for their own matrices because degradation rates depend on pH, temperature, concentration, and container materials.
=== February–April 1881 === On 14 February Carrington captured Ramokoatsi, which overlooked the main road to Morija. The following day, a force of 370 cavalry, 100 infantry, 50 native levies, and three artillery pieces under Brabant was sent out in search of a new camping ground. Upon crossing a spruit in the Ramibidikwa area, a CMR scout reported a massed formation of Basuto horsemen. Brabant ordered his soldiers to form a square; soon afterwards the Basuto commenced an attack on its front and two flanks. A combination of rifle and case shot fire kept the Basuto at bay in the center and the right flank. On the left, the Basuto managed to almost reach melee range before being likewise driven off. The artillery continued to fire on the retreating Basuto, who suffered 138 casualties in the engagement. One month later Clarke assumed personal command of the force, moving the camp to Ramibidikwa, 20 miles (32 km) from Morija. On 22 March, Carrington was heavily wounded in the vicinity of the new camp. By early April, Sprigg's conduct of the war was being heavily criticized in the Cape Parliament, whose opposition members were pushing for a vote of no confidence. Using Letsie as an intermediary, Robinson organized a meeting between Griffith and Lerotholi outside Maseru on 17 April. The two sides signed an armistice, although Lerotholi was unwilling to surrender his weapons, as the motion would be too unpopular among his tribesmen. On 29 April, Robinson announced the peace settlement, known as the Award.
A gas panel or gas manifold is the control equipment for supplying the breathing gas to the divers. Primary and reserve gas is supplied to the panel through shutoff valves from a low-pressure compressor or high-pressure storage cylinders ("bombs", "bundles", "quads", or "kellys"). The gas pressure may be controlled at the panel by an industrial pressure regulator, or it may already be regulated closer to the source (at the compressor, or at the storage cylinder outlet). The supply gas pressure is monitored on a gauge at the panel, and an over-pressure valve is fitted in case the supply pressure is too high. The gas panel may be operated by the diving supervisor if the breathing gas is air or a fixed ratio premix, but if the composition must be controlled or monitored during the dive it is usual for a dedicated gas panel operator, or "gas man" to do this work. There is a set of valves and gauges for each diver to be supplied from the panel. These include:
== How it works == The spark ion source consists of a vacuum chamber containing the electrodes, which is called the spark housing. The tips of the electrodes are composed of or containing the sample and are electrically connected to the power supply. Extraction electrodes create an electric field that accelerate the generated ions through the exit slit.
=== Transmission === Scabies is contagious and can be contracted through prolonged physical contact with an infested person. This includes sexual intercourse, although a majority of cases are acquired through other forms of skin-to-skin contact. Less commonly, scabies infestation can happen through the sharing of clothes, towels, and bedding, but this is not a major mode of transmission; individual mites can survive for only two to three days, at most, away from human skin at room temperature. As with lice, a latex condom is ineffective against scabies transmission during intercourse, because mites typically migrate from one individual to the next at sites other than the sex organs. Multiple transmission factors allow scabies to achieve very high prevalence rates in institutional outbreaks, including crowded living conditions with high host density, social interactions involving prolonged skin-to-skin contact, sharing of bedding and clothing, frequent manual handling, limited access to laundry services, and immunocompromised populations. Healthcare workers are at risk of contracting scabies from patients, because they may be in extended contact with them.
In enzymology, 4-aminobutyrate transaminase (EC 2.6.1.19), also called GABA transaminase or 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase, or GABA-T, is an enzyme that catalyzes the reversible chemical reaction: GABA + α-ketoglutaric acid ⇌ {\displaystyle \rightleftharpoons } succinate semialdehyde + L-glutamic acid The two substrates of this enzyme are GABA and α-ketoglutaric acid. Its products are succinate semialdehyde and L-glutamic acid. Th enzyme is a transferase, specifically a transaminase, which transfer nitrogenous groups. The systematic name of this enzyme class is 4-aminobutanoate:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase. This enzyme participates in 5 metabolic pathways: alanine and aspartate metabolism, glutamate metabolism, β-alanine metabolism, propanoate metabolism, and butanoate metabolism. It uses pyridoxal phosphate as a cofactor. This enzyme is found in prokaryotes, plants, fungi, and animals (including humans). Pigs have often been used when studying how this protein may work in humans.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Research has been ongoing since the 1960s to determine the proportion of 14C in the atmosphere over the past 50,000 years. The resulting data, in the form of a calibration curve, is now used to convert a given measurement of radiocarbon in a sample into an estimate of the sample's calendar age. Other corrections must be made to account for the proportion of 14C in different types of organisms (fractionation), and the varying levels of 14C throughout the biosphere (reservoir effects). Additional complications come from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, and from the above-ground nuclear tests done in the 1950s and 1960s. Because the time it takes to convert biological materials to fossil fuels is substantially longer than the time it takes for their 14C to decay below detectable levels, fossil fuels contain almost no 14C. As a result, beginning in the late 19th century, there was a noticeable drop in the proportion of 14C as the carbon dioxide generated from burning fossil fuels began to accumulate in the atmosphere. Conversely, nuclear testing increased the amount of 14C in the atmosphere, which reached a maximum in about 1965 of almost double the amount present in the atmosphere prior to nuclear testing. Measurement of radiocarbon was originally done by beta-counting devices, which counted the amount of beta radiation emitted by decaying 14C atoms in a sample.
== Political career == In 1983, he founded Unión para la Apertura Universitaria which won the students' union elections in the Faculty of Law in 1987, 1988 and 1989. He has been described as the "Godfather of the new style and method of university politics". In 1987, he was elected to the City of Buenos Aires Deliberative Council for Unión del Centro Democrático. He proposed reducing the number of members of the city legislature from 60 to 30. He was a large shareholder of the online broker Patagon when it was sold in 2000, before the dotcom bubble crash, for 750 million dollars. Ahead of the 2023 general election, Maslatón announced his intention to run for president as part of the La Libertad Avanza (LLA) coalition. He intended to dispute the coalition's nomination against Milei in the PASO primaries. On 20 January 2023, the coalition refused his request to contest the nomination. Maslatón then stood back from the contest and announced he would remain a member of LLA.
Gluconeogenesis begins in the mitochondria with the formation of oxaloacetate by the carboxylation of pyruvate. This reaction also requires one molecule of ATP, and is catalyzed by pyruvate carboxylase. This enzyme is stimulated by high levels of acetyl-CoA (produced in β-oxidation in the liver) and inhibited by high levels of ADP and glucose. Oxaloacetate is reduced to malate using NADH, a step required for its transportation out of the mitochondria. Malate is oxidized to oxaloacetate using NAD+ in the cytosol, where the remaining steps of gluconeogenesis take place. Oxaloacetate is decarboxylated and then phosphorylated to form phosphoenolpyruvate using the enzyme PEPCK. A molecule of GTP is hydrolyzed to GDP during this reaction. The next steps in the reaction are the same as reversed glycolysis. However, fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase converts fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to fructose 6-phosphate, using one water molecule and releasing one phosphate (in glycolysis, phosphofructokinase 1 converts F6P and ATP to F1,6BP and ADP). This is also the rate-limiting step of gluconeogenesis. Glucose-6-phosphate is formed from fructose 6-phosphate by phosphoglucoisomerase (the reverse of step 2 in glycolysis). Glucose-6-phosphate can be used in other metabolic pathways or dephosphorylated to free glucose. Whereas free glucose can easily diffuse in and out of the cell, the phosphorylated form (glucose-6-phosphate) is locked in the cell, a mechanism by which intracellular glucose levels are controlled by cells.
=== Protein structure prediction === Protein structure prediction can be used to provide three-dimensional protein structure predictions of whole proteomes. In 2022, a large-scale collaboration between EMBL-EBI and DeepMind provided predicted structures for over 200 million proteins from across the tree of life. Smaller projects have also used protein structure prediction to help map the proteome of individual organisms, for example isoform.io provides coverage of multiple protein isoforms for over 20,000 genes in the human genome.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Jung is considered a "godparent" of the altruistic, mutual self-help movement, Alcoholics Anonymous. Jung told Rhode Island businessman and politician Rowland Hazard III, who had come under his care for the first time in 1926, that the only chance he might have to recover was through a "spiritual or religious experience" or "genuine conversion," which Hazard later had, through the Oxford Group and the Emmanuel Movement, and, according to some sources, never drank again. Hazard, in turn, helped Ebby Thatcher, another alcoholic, get sober, with help from the Oxford Group. Thatcher brought Jung's ideas to a third alcoholic, Bill W., who consequently co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous with Dr. Bob. Years later, Bill W. corresponded with Jung, in 1961, thanking him for helping to inspire the organization. Of Hazard, the alcoholic who came under his care, Jung wrote: "His craving for alcohol was the equivalent, on a low level, of the spiritual thirst of our being for wholeness, expressed in medieval language: the union with God." Jung concludes his letter to Bill W.: "You see, "alcohol" in Latin is spiritus, and you use the same word for the highest religious experience as well as for the most depraving poison. The helpful formula therefore is: spiritus contra spiritum."
NADH-ferredoxin oxidoreductase reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-ferredoxin NADH-ferredoxin reductase NADH flavodoxin oxidoreductase NADH2-ferredoxin oxidoreductase Other enzymes in the family include:
=== Valorization and circular economy === Recent trends in the dairy industry focus on a circular economy approach, transforming whey treatment plants into biorefineries. Instead of producing only biogas, processes can be tuned for acidogenic fermentation to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs) via the carboxylate platform. Recent findings suggest that applying thermal and alkaline pre-treatments to the inoculum can effectively halt methanogenesis, thereby favoring the accumulation of VFAs, which serve as valuable precursors for bioplastics and other chemicals. Integrated systems coupling anaerobic digestion with microalgae cultivation have also been proposed. In these "closed-loop" scenarios, the nutrient-rich digestate serves as a substrate for microalgal biomass production, which can be harvested for biofuels or high-value pigments, while simultaneously recovering nitrogen and phosphorus (e.g., as struvite).
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
GSH is the reduced thiol form, while GSSG is the disulfide-linked oxidized dimer. The GSH:GSSG ratio is used as a redox indicator, though the ratio can vary with sample handling and cell type.
Glutathione is present in many foods, including meats, poultry, fish, some vegetables, and fruits. Cooking, storage, and digestion affect the amounts available for absorption.
Yes, both enzymatic steps in glutathione synthesis consume ATP. The first step, catalyzed by glutamate-cysteine ligase, is usually rate-limiting.
Glutathione is a tripeptide of three amino acids: glutamate, cysteine, and glycine. The cysteine residue provides the sulfhydryl group that gives the molecule its reducing properties.