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Erythrocyte glutathione transferase: a potential new biomarker in chronic kidney diseases which correlates with plasma homocysteine

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Abstract

The erythrocyte glutathione S-transferase (e-GST) is a member of a superfamily of inducible enzymes involved in cell detoxification that shows an increased expression in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. We propose a new automated analysis procedure for e-GST activity that has been validated in 72 CKD patients and 62 maintenance hemodialysis patients (MHD). Regression analysis was carried out to assess association between e-GST activity data, main clinical variables, and plasma homocysteine (Hcy), a modified sulfur amino acid known as potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease that is increased above normal levels in more than 90% of the uremic patients. An increased e-GST activity was confirmed in MHD patients (N = 62; 10.2 ± 0.4 U/gHb) compared with healthy subjects (N = 80; 5.8 ± 0.4 U/gHb), and as an original finding, a significant increase of e-GST activity was observed in pre-dialysis CKD patients with a positive correlation with disease severity weighted according to the four stages of “Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative” classification (7.4 ± 0.5, 8 ± 1, 9.5 ± 0.6, 12 ± 1 U/gHb, respectively). No correlation was found between e-GST activity and hemoglobin, transferrin, blood iron and the markers of systemic inflammation and renal function such as alpha-1 acid glycoprotein and high-sensitive C-Reactive Protein, beta-2 microglobulin and the index of malnutrition-inflammation PINI, while a significant correlation was observed for the first time between plasma Hcy and e-GST activity (r 2 = 0.64, P < 0.0001) in MHD patients. Hcy, however, was not identified as an inhibitor of e-GST enzyme. The results in this study suggest the potential for automated e-GST analysis as a valuable tool to further explore phase II-related uremic toxicity in CKD and MHD patients.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, Rome, Italy

    Mariarita Dessì, Renato Massoud, Giorgio Fucci & Giorgio Federici

  2. Deparment of Internal Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Francesco Galli

  3. Nephrology and Dialysis Unit, University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, Rome, Italy

    Annalisa Noce, Massimo Taccone-Gallucci & Simone Manca di Villahermosa

  4. Department of Chemical Sciences and Technologies, University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, Rome, Italy

    Kutayba F. Dawood, Raffaele Fabrini, Alessio Bocedi, Viviana Zingaretti & Giorgio Ricci

  5. Biochemistry Laboratory, Children’s Hospital and Research Institute ‘Bambino Gesù’, Rome, Italy

    Anna Pastore

Authors
  1. Mariarita Dessì
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  2. Annalisa Noce
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  3. Kutayba F. Dawood
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  4. Francesco Galli
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  5. Massimo Taccone-Gallucci
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  6. Raffaele Fabrini
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  7. Alessio Bocedi
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  8. Renato Massoud
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  9. Giorgio Fucci
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  10. Anna Pastore
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  11. Simone Manca di Villahermosa
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  12. Viviana Zingaretti
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  13. Giorgio Federici
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  14. Giorgio Ricci
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Francesco Galli or Giorgio Ricci.

Additional information

M. Dessì, A. Noce, and K. F. Dawood equally contributed to this work.

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Dessì, M., Noce, A., Dawood, K.F. et al. Erythrocyte glutathione transferase: a potential new biomarker in chronic kidney diseases which correlates with plasma homocysteine. Amino Acids 43, 347–354 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-011-1085-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-011-1085-x

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