Glutathione Synthetic Activity in the Lungs in Newborn Guinea Pigs

Depletion of glutathione, a key antioxidant, accelerates lung injury. Glutathione concentrations are reduced significantly in premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome, leaving them at greater risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. A study was designed to verify if the increased glutathione synthetic activity observed in oxygen-dependent and ventilated newborn infants was caused by their postsurgical state. Our objective was to evaluate the role of a general surgical procedure as a factor affecting lung glutathione. One-day-old guinea pig pups, a well characterized animal model for the study of neonatal lung disease, were divided between those undergoing a standardized surgical procedure and those that did not. The pups were fed by their mother. After 4 days the lungs were sampled to determine total glutathione content, activities of γ-glutamyltranspeptidase, glutathione peroxidase, and reductase as well as the glutathione synthetic activity. The surgical procedure was associated with a specific stimulatory effect limited to glutathione synthetic activity (p < 0.02) leading to an increased (p < 0.02) pulmonary glutathione content. Glutathione concentration was significantly correlated (r ²= 0.67) with the synthetic activity. We concluded that in this animal model an invasive procedure such as a general surgical procedure affects lung glutathione metabolism in a fashion similar to that of hyperoxia. In the lungs, the synthetic activity is a stronger determinant of glutathione concentrations than the activities of the other enzymes involved in maintaining glutathione levels. Accepted for publication: 21 May 1998