GLUTATHIONE CONTENT OF COLONIC MUCOSA - EVIDENCE FOR OXIDATIVE DAMAGEIN ACTIVE ULCERATIVE-COLITIS

Oxidative stress appears to play a role in the tissue damage of active ulcerative colitis, and it has been suggested that a defect in mucosa l antioxidant defenses is a etiological factor in the disease. This st udy was undertaken to investigate the mucosal content and oxidation st ate of glutathione in ulcerative colitis in the active and inactive st ates and to examine the relationship between glutathione content and d isease activity in this patient population. Endoscopic biopsies of col on mucosa were collected from normal subjects, from macroscopically no rmal tissue of patients with inactive and active ulcerative colitis, a nd from inflamed tissue of patients with active ulcerative colitis. Th e mucosal contents of GSH and GSSG were determined by liquid chromatog raphy. We found no significant differences in tissue contents of reduc ed glutathione among the four groups. The median tissue level of oxidi zed glutathione in inflamed mucosa from patients with active ulcerativ e colitis was increased 1.7-fold (P = 0.017) over that of patients wit h inactive disease. The oxidized glutathione content of the mucosa als o showed significant positive correlations with clinical and histologi cal indices of disease severity among ulcerative colitis patients. In conclusion, a change in the redox; status of mucosal glutathione is as sociated with inflammation and disease activity in ulcerative colitis. This change appears to be a consequence of inflammation rather than a pathogenic factor for the disease.