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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Live Imaging of the Mitochondrial Glutathione Redox State in Primary Neurons using a Ratiometric Indicator
Published on: October 20, 2021
Cysteine Metabolism in Neuronal Redox Homeostasis
Bindu D Paul1, Juan I Sbodio1, Solomon H Snyder2
1The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract:
Besides its essential role in protein synthesis, cysteine plays vital roles in redox homeostasis, being a component of the major antioxidant glutathione (GSH) and a potent antioxidant by itself. In addition, cysteine undergoes a variety of post-translational modifications that modulate several physiological processes. It is becoming increasingly clear that redox-modulated events play important roles not only in peripheral tissues but also in the brain where cysteine disposition is central to these pathways. Dysregulated cysteine metabolism is associated with several neurodegenerative disorders. Accordingly, restoration of cysteine balance has therapeutic benefits. This review discusses metabolic signaling pathways pertaining to cysteine disposition in the brain under normal and pathological conditions, highlighting recent findings on cysteine metabolism during aging and in neurodegenerative conditions such as Huntington's disease (HD) and molybdenum cofactor (MoCo) deficiency (MoCD) among others.
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