REDUCTION OF DISULFIDE BONDS IN PEPTIDES AND PROTEINS

We have re-examined the mechanism of disulfide bond reduction in oxidized glutathione by CO2. free radicals. The process appears to be a chain reaction whose initial yield depends on pH and on both peptide and formate ion concentrations, but remains independent on the radiation dose rate. Kinetic schemes drawn from studies on dithiothreitol are unable to account for the results obtained with glutathione and proteins, although the disulfide radical anion is the primary intermediate found with all compounds. The rate constant for its formation from CO2. and glutathione is in the same range as those found using proteins, while decay pathways are somewhat different. Hypotheses are proposed to account for these differences.