Glutathione and GSH-dependent enzymes in the human gastric mucosa

The gamma-glutamyl-transferase activity, the total glutathione content, the GSH-peroxidase activity, and the GSH S-transferase activity using an aryl substrate were estimated in the S9 fraction of gastric biopsy specimens taken from patients with normal stomach morphology (n = 24), acute gastritis (n = 15), chronic-atrophic gastritis (n = 10), gastric ulcer (n = 9), and carcinoma of the stomach (n = 12). The total glutathione content of normal gastric mucosal specimens was significantly higher than that of human liver biopsy specimens, whereas the GSH-peroxidase and the GSH S-aryltransferase activities were much lower than those found in the liver. Specimens of gastric ulcer had significantly lower enzyme activities of GSH-peroxidase and GSH-aryltransferase, whereas gastric cancer tissue had significantly lower concentrations of total glutathione. The intraindividual comparison of tumorous and non-tumorous tissue showed a consistent decrease of total glutathione as well as of GSH-aryltransferase activity in carcinomatous tissue.