title: Erythrocyte glutathione transferase: a general probe for chemical contaminations in mammals.
abstract: Glutathione transferases (GSTs) are enzymes devoted to the protection of cells against many different toxins. In erythrocytes, the isoenzyme (e-GST) mainly present is GSTP1-1, which is overexpressed in humans in case of increased blood toxicity, as it occurs in nephrophatic patients or in healthy subjects living in polluted areas. The present study explores the possibility that e-GST may be used as an innovative and highly sensitive biomarker of blood toxicity also for other mammals. All distinct e-GSTs from humans, Bos taurus (cow), Sus scrofa (pig), Capra hircus (goat), Equus caballus (horse), Equus asinus (donkey) and Ovis aries (sheep), show very similar amino acid sequences, identical kinetics and stability properties. Reference values for e-GST in all these mammals reared in controlled farms span from 3.5±0.2 U/gHb in the pig to 17.0±0.9 U/gHb in goat; such activity levels can easily be determined with high precision using only a few microliters of whole blood and a simple spectrophotometric assay. Possibly disturbing factors have been examined to avoid artifact determinations. This study provides the basis for future screening studies to verify if animals have been exposed to toxicologic insults. Preliminary data on cows reared in polluted areas show increased expression of e-GST, which parallels the results found for humans.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università degli Studi di Roma 'Tor Vergata' , Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bocedi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università degli Studi di Roma 'Tor Vergata' , Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fabrini
authors.affiliation: Direzione Operativa Produzioni Zootecniche, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana 'M. Aleandri' , Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Direzione Operativa Produzioni Zootecniche, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana 'M. Aleandri' , Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alfieri
authors.affiliation: Direzione Operativa Produzioni Zootecniche, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana 'M. Aleandri' , Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roncoroni
authors.affiliation: Unità di Nefrologia e Ipertensione, Dipartimento di Medicina dei Sistemi, Università degli Studi di Roma 'Tor Vergata' , Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Noce
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Roma 'Tor Vergata' , Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: J Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università degli Studi di Roma 'Tor Vergata' , Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ricci