Mechanism of copper-catalyzed oxidation of glutathione

The mechanism of copper-catalyzed glutathione oxidation was investigated using oxygen consumption, thiol depletion, spectroscopy and hydroxyl radical detection. The mechanism of oxidation has kinetics which appear biphasic. During the first reaction phase a stoichiometric amount of oxygen is consumed (1 mole oxygen per 4 moles thiol) with minimal (OH)-O-. production. In the second reaction phase, additional (excess) oxygen is consumed at an increased rate and with significant hydrogen peroxide and (OH)-O-. production. The kinetic and spectroscopic data suggest that copper forms a catalytic complex with glutathione (1 mole copper per 2 moles glutathione). Our proposed reaction mechanism assumes two parallel processes (superoxide-dependent and peroxide-dependent) for the first reaction phase and superoxide-independent for the second phase. Our current results indicate that glutathione, usually considered as an antioxidant, can act as prooxidant at physiological conditions and therefore can participate in cellular radical damage.