In this paper, a new mechanism of glutathione modification in the regulation of acute lung injury was studied
It is more effective to explore life science to protect health
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On December 7, 2021, Zhang Xue/Ke Yuehai of the School of Basic Medicine of Zhejiang University and the Run Run Shaw Hospital affiliated to the School of Medicine published an online paper entitled “Oxidative stress-induced Fabp5-Glutathionylation protects” in Nature Communications against acute lung injury by suppressing inflammation in macrophages “.
This study elucidated the molecular mechanism by which glutathione of fatty acid-binding protein FABP5 alleviates acute lung injury by inhibiting macrophage inflammation, and provided new ideas for elucidating the regulatory mechanism of fatty acid metabolism in acute lung injury and the use of REDOX strategies for targeted treatment of lung injury.
Glutathione, also known as lipoic acid, is an important amino acid that has a variety of physiological functions in the body.
In recent years, the clinical application of GSH has been paid more and more attention, and has been widely used in the treatment and prevention of various diseases.
Many experts and scholars have explored the efficacy and role of glutathione.
What is glutathione?
glutathione (GSH) is a tripeptide consisting of glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine, containing sulfhydryl groups, which is present in almost every cell of the body and has antioxidant and integrated detoxification effects. China glutathione manufacturers
Glutathione is widely found in animals and plants, and it can participate in biological transformation, transforming harmful poisons into harmless substances in the body and excreting them out of the body, thus helping to maintain the normal function of the immune system.
GSH can not only be used as medicine, but also as the base material of functional food, which is widely used in functional food such as delaying aging, enhancing immunity and anti-tumor.
Eight functions of glutathione
Anti-free radical
The excessive free radicals produced by the body’s metabolism will damage the biofilm, invade the macromolecules of life, and accelerate the aging of the body. The main physiological role of GSH is to remove free radicals in the human body. As an important antioxidant in the body, glutathione protects the sulfyl groups in many proteins and enzymes.
Boost immunity
Glutathione can not only eliminate free radicals in the human body, but also improve human immunity.
It can regulate the function of immune cells, improve the activity of the immune system, and enhance the resistance to pathogens and harmful substances.
Glutathione is healthy and anti-aging, and has a greater effect on the cells that slow down in older people than in younger ones.
Protective blood cells
Glutathione can also protect hemoglobin from hydrogen peroxide oxidation, free radicals and other oxidation, so that it can continue to perform normal oxygen transport capacity.
Glutathione is abundant in human red blood cells, which is of great significance to protect the sulfhydryl group of proteins on the red blood cell membrane in a reduced state and prevent hemolysis.
Enhance enzyme activity
Glutathione protects the -SH group in the enzyme molecule, which conducive to the play of the enzyme activity, and can restore the activity function of the -SH group in the enzyme molecule that has destroyed, so that the enzyme can resume the activity.
GSH also inhibits the fatty liver caused by ethanol. GSH can be used as a liver drug. The liver is able to break down many toxic substances, including various drugs and alcohol.
Since a large number of free radicals produced during liver detoxification, the antioxidant effects of GSH are important for protecting liver cells from free radicals.
Therefore, in the medical field, glutathione has used as a drug to treat alcohol addiction and acute liver injury.
Research is also under way in academia focusing on the therapeutic effects of oral GSH intake on various liver diseases.
In this regard, scientists conducted a human application test in 2017.
In the study, patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease took 300 mg of glutathione daily for four months. After 4 months, a significant decrease in ALT levels (a liver value) was found.
Neutralizing toxin
Glutathione has a strong protective effect on the symptoms of leukopenia caused by radiation and radiopharmaceutics.
Glutathione can combined with toxic compounds, heavy metal ions or carcinogens that enter the human body, and promote their excretion from the body, playing a role of neutralization and detoxification.
Protect cerebral nerve
Diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s known as neurodegenerative diseases. GSH has also been implicated in the development of these diseases.
Fundamentally, the brain is an organ that is highly sensitive to free radicals. Therefore, reduced levels of glutathione in the body considered a risk factor for degeneration of the central nervous system, including the brain.
In fact, according to a review paper published in the SCI grade academic journal International Journal of Molecular Science in 2021, glutathione depleted in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
In the paper, the researchers offer the following conclusions.
With the development of drug delivery systems, neuron-specific GSH replacement therapy expected to offer hope for future treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
Improve insulin resistance
As mentioned earlier, reactive oxygen species not only damage cells throughout the body, including the liver and brain, but also affect signaling pathways in the body.
Free radicals, in particular, can also affect the signaling pathway of insulin receptors, leading to insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance refers to the phenomenon of reduced insulin function and is a typical feature of type 2 diabetes.
Therefore, the academic community has been trying to improve insulin resistance through oral supplementation of the antioxidant glutathione.
Below are the results of the 2021 human application test for patients with type 2 diabetes or obesity.
When subjects took 1000 mg of glutathione daily for 3 weeks, insulin sensitivity in the glutathione group improved significantly compared to the control group.
Glutathione Whitening and purifying skin
The latest research also shows that glutathione titanium can correct the imbalance of acetylcholine and cholinesterase, play an anti-allergic role, also can prevent skin aging and pigmentation, reduce the formation of melanin, improve the skin’s antioxidant capacity and make the skin produce luster, in addition, glutathione titanium in the treatment of corneal disease and improve sexual function also has a good role.
Expert interpretation: The magic effect of glutathione
At present, there more and more reports on the efficacy and action of glutathione, and glutathione also widely used in clinical medicine and the treatment and prevention of various diseases.
Glutathione has the functions and effects of anti-oxidation, lowering blood lipids, lowering blood sugar, anti-allergy, improving immunity, etc. It can used to treat liver cell damage caused by various diseases, and protect cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.