Glutathione transport by inside-out vesicles from human erythrocytes

Purified inside-out vesicles from human erythrocytes were used to investigate the active transport of oxidized glutathione (GSSG). Incubation of vesicles and GSSG in the presence of ATP resulted in the transport of GSSG into the vesicles. When vesicles were incubated with reduced glutathione (GSH), no transport was observed. At GSSG concentrations of less than 5 mM, transport was linear up to 4 hr at 37 degrees C. A Lineweaver-Burk plot of the transport rate as a function of GSSG concentration was biphasic and gave apparent Km values of 0.1 and 7.1 mM. The Km for ATP . Mg in this transport process was 0.63 mM at a GSSG concentration of 20 microM and 1.25 mM at a GSSG concentration of 5 mM. The transport rate at low GSSG concentrations was inhibited by CTP or UTP, which acted as competitive inhibitors of ATP; Ki=0.51 mM. This inhibition may account for the high erythrocyte GSH levels observed in pyrimidine-5'-nucleotidase deficiency, a disorder in which erythrocytic levels of CTP and UTP are elevated.