Abstract
Red blood cell (RBC) peroxide catabolism, via the synergistic action of catalase and the glutathione recycling system (glutathione peroxidase and reductase), helps protect the lung against oxygen toxicity (Am Rev Resp Dis 1989;140:531). Using serial changes in reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione as a marker, the ability of RBCs to deal with a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) load was compared in vitro in preterm (n=8) and term (n=9) babies and adults (n=10). Incubation of RBCs with H2O2 caused a rapid depletion of GSH and increase of GSSG, followed by a recovery of GSH and fall of GSSG to initial values. A greater GSH depletion produced a slower GSH recovery time (r=-0.79, p<0.001). Neonatal RBCs showed significantly less depletion and quicker recovery of GSH than those of adults (p<0.001). Partial inhibition of H2O2 catabolism by catalase inactivation produced 50% loss of intracellular glutathione and slower GSH recovery (p<0.005) in all subjects, but recovery remained quicker in the babies (p<0.01). There was a positive correlation between gestational age and recovery time (r=0.68, p<0.02). The effective peroxide catabolism in neonatal RBCs may partly compensate for deficiencies in antioxidant defenses of the immature lung.
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Clahsen, P., Moison, R., Holtzer, C. et al. 107 GLUTATHIONE RECOVERY STUDIES DURING OXIDATIVE STRESS IN NEONATAL RED BLOOD CELLS. Pediatr Res 30, 646 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199112000-00137
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199112000-00137
