This is a working overview of glutathione, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
This page was last updated on 2026-02-21 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
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 synthesis proceeds in two ATP-dependent steps catalyzed by glutamate-cysteine ligase and glutathione synthetase. The first step joins glutamate and cysteine to form gamma-glutamylcysteine and is generally rate-limiting. The second step adds glycine to complete the tripeptide. Cysteine availability, feedback inhibition by glutathione, and oxidative conditions influence flux through this pathway. The pathway is conserved across many organisms, and degradation by gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and related peptidases recycles amino acids for new synthesis.
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.
| 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 |
Amino acid composition in resilin was analyzed in 1961 by Bailey and Torkel Weis-Fogh when they observed samples of prealar arm and wing hinge ligaments of locusts. The result indicates that resilin lacks methionine, hydroxyproline, and cysteine constituents in its amino acid composition.
=== List of superintendents === Shawn Joseph (interim 2025–2026; 2026-present) Millard House II (2023–2025) Monica Goldson, CEO (interim 2018–2019; 2019–2023) Kevin M. Maxwell, CEO (2013–2018) Alvin Crawley (interim 2012–2013) William R. Hite, Jr. (interim 2008–2009; 2009–2012) John E. Deasy (2006–2008) Howard A. Burnett (interim 2005–2006) André J. Hornsby (2003–2005) Iris T. Metts (1999–2003) Jerome Clark (1995–1999) Edward M. Felegy (1991–1995) John A. Murphy (1984–1991) Edward J. Feeney (1976–1984) Carl W. Hassel (1970–1976) William S. Schmidt (1951–1970) G. Gardner Shugart (1944–1951) Nicholas Orem Sr. (1921–1943) E.S. Burroughs (1915–1921) Frederick Sasscer Jr. (1902–1914)
== Etymology == The word is a compound of Modern English chill 'cold' and the archaic word blain (now used only in the word in question), meaning 'swelling', 'blister' or 'sore' and derived from Old English bleġen, bleġene, having the same meaning.
=== Carbon capture === The small, tunable pore sizes of MOFs and their high void fractions make them excellent adsorbents for the capture of CO2. MOFs could provide a more efficient alternative to traditional amine solvent-based methods in CO2 capture from various souces, including the cement industry, natural gas combustion and biogas. The flue gas or biogas would be fed through a MOF in a packed-bed reactor setup. Flue gas is generally 40 to 60 °C with a partial pressure of CO2 at 0.13 – 0.16 bar. CO2 can bind to the MOF surface through either physisorption (via Van der Waals interactions) or chemisorption (via covalent bond formation). Once the MOF is saturated, the CO2 is desorbed through either a temperature swing or a pressure swing. This process is known as regeneration. In a temperature swing regeneration, the MOF would be heated until CO2 desorbs. To achieve working capacities comparable to the amine process, the MOF must be heated to around 200 °C. In a pressure swing, the pressure would be decreased until CO2 desorbs. In this way, the adsoprtion-desoprtion process is cyclic and the MOF is used over a period of many years. A relevant MOF property for temperature-swing adsorption is their low heat capacity. Monoethanolamine (MEA) solutions, the leading capture method, have a heat capacity between 3-4 J/(g⋅K) since they are mostly water. This high heat capacity contributes to the energy penalty in the solvent regeneration step, i.e. when the adsorbed CO2 is removed from the MEA solution.
Albert Pike lost confidence in Cassard's performance. In 1861, he sent another Cuban named Vicente Antonio de Castro back to Cuba to take over and "...regularize any error that Andres Cassard might have committed in organizing the bodies of Cuba, and to establish that peace and harmony that should exist among the ancients in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite." Albert Pike and the Grand Lodge of South Carolina became increasingly embroiled in the American Civil War. Pike served as a General in the Confederate States Army, and de Castro began acting more autonomously. Instead of withdrawing from Freemasonry, however, Pike sought to make Confederate South Carolina the epicentre of the entire Masonic world. de Castro, when he observed the currents within Colon Freemasonry, saw that even though the Grand Lodge and the Supreme Council disagreed on much of the issues in society, they were mostly led by Spanish loyalists desiring that Spain remain a part of Cuba's future. Historians note the discord, because before the Civil War, Albert Pike had long been a proponent of Manifest destiny and a soldier in the Westward Expansion – but the Lodges he created were still loyal to Spain. Still at the forefront of the debate was the institution of slavery. On March 28, 1862, instead of co-organizing with the Colon bodies, de Castro created an entirely new body called the Supremo Consejo y Gran Oriente de Cuba y Las Antillas (GOCA) (English: Supreme Council and Grand Orient of Cuba and the Antilles).
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Mechanism of action == The primary mechanism of action by PDRN is the adenosine A2A receptor pathway, which is activated following enzymatic degradation of the deoxyribonucleotide polymers. Adenosine acts the primary ligand which binds to the G protein-coupled receptor A2A leading to an increase in intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels. This secondary messenger activates protein kinase A (PKA) acting as a signaling cascade of several pathways downstream.Thus, enhacing tissue repair through upregulation of PI3K/Akt and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The activation of the A2A pathway is observed to be conserved across various PDRN sources, yet it activates different downstream pathways depending on the type of tissue and injury. Additionally, PDRN contributes to the salvage pathway, which is a metabolic mechanism that supports nucleotide synthesis for processes like DNA replication and celullar proliferation. For injuries needing faster regeneration, this nucleoside input is essential, highlighling the importance of both signaling and metabolic pathways for optimal tissue repair.
=== Annual Buffalo festival === Hisar Annual Buffalo festival is held every year at the main campus on CIRB foundation day of 1 February, as an extension and awareness day where usually more than 4,000 farmers and breeders attend. Another annual Buffalo mela is held at the Bir Dosanjh subcampus every year on 11 December.
Gorgonzola blue cheese takes its name from the village of Gorgonzola in Italy where it was first made. Belonging to the family of Stracchino cheeses, Gorgonzola is a whole milk, white, and "uncooked" cheese. This blue cheese is inoculated with Penicillium glaucum which, during ripening, produces the characteristic of blue-green veins. There are two variants with different odor: natural and creamy Gorgonzola. 63 components in natural Gorgonzola cheese and 52 components in creamy Gorgonzola cheese contribute to odor with 2-nonanone, 1-octen-3-ol, 2-heptanol, ethyl hexanoate, methylanisole and 2-heptanone being the prominent compounds for odor in both cheeses.
=== Pittsburgh Pirates (1960–62) === Mizell's trade to the Pirates was one of the catalysts of Pittsburgh's championship run that season. Facing the Giants on June 16, 1960, he threw 166 pitches and stayed in the ballgame for three hours and two minutes, allowing two runs through eight innings before allowing three hits to start the ninth and getting charged with three more runs, though he still earned the win in the 10–7 victory. "Shucks, no. I wasn't tired," he quipped after the game. On the strength of two shutouts, he pitched 30 consecutive scoreless innings from July 22 to August 9, the longest such streak of his career. The first shutout may have been his best game of the season; he held the Cubs to two hits in a 4–0 victory on July 29. Six days later, he allowed five hits but no runs to the Giants, securing a 1–0 triumph. On September 18, he won another 1–0 game, limiting Cincinnati to three hits in nine innings. In the month of September, he had a 5–1 record and a 3.14 ERA as the Pirates clinched the NL pennant. Mizell went 13-5 for the Pirates that season (14–8 overall) and finished sixth in the NL in winning percentage (.636). Between St. Louis and Pittsburgh, he had a 3.50 ERA (3.12 with the Pirates), striking out 113 and walking 74 in 211 innings. Of the walks, 10 were intentional. Mizell started Game 3 of the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees but was removed in the first inning, having given up three hits and a walk while only retiring one hitter. He was charged with the loss as the Yankees won 10–0.
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.
GSH is the reduced form with a free thiol group, while GSSG is the oxidized disulfide-linked dimer. Most assays distinguish the two because their balance reflects redox conditions. The names are not interchangeable.