GLUTATHIONE S-TRANSFERASES AND PREVENTION OF CELLULAR FREE-RADICAL DAMAGE

This paper describes the intervention of glutathione-dependent enzymes , in particular the glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), in both the det oxication of electrophilic decomposition products resulting from the a ttack of oxygen radicals on lipids and DNA; and the prevention of oxyg en toxicity generated by redox cycling catecholamine derivatives. The continuing growth of our knowledge of the glutathione S-transferase po lygene family is described in terms of the increase in members of know n gene families, the discovery of new ones and our increasing knowledg e of their activities towards endogenous substrates.