Effects of cysteine and N-acetyl cysteine on GSH content of brain of adult rats.
Intraperitoneal injections of cysteine or N-acetyl cysteine induce a depletion of reduced glutathione (GSH) in rat brain. The doses required to promote GSH depletion are lower than those reported to cause a disseminate neurodegenerative syndrome. Since physiological GSH concentrations are required to maintain cell membranes, we suggest that consideration of the cysteine-induced GSH depletion is important in attempts to understand the mechanism of cysteine-induced cytotoxicity in brain.
D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D003545:Cysteine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D005978:Glutathione; D003545:Cysteine; D000111:Acetylcysteine