Molecules 2010, 15(3), 1242-1264; doi:10.3390/molecules15031242
Review

Prodrug Approach for Increasing Cellular Glutathione Levels

Ivana Cacciatore, Catia Cornacchia, Francesco Pinnen, Adriano Mollica and Antonio Di Stefano* email
Department of Drug Sciences, School of Pharmacy, “G. d'Annunzio” University, Via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 8 February 2010; in revised form: 2 March 2010 / Accepted: 3 March 2010 / Published: 3 March 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prodrugs)
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [292 KB, uploaded 3 March 2010 12:20 CET]
Abstract: Reduced glutathione (GSH) is the most abundant non-protein thiol in mammalian cells and the preferred substrate for several enzymes in xenobiotic metabolism and antioxidant defense. It plays an important role in many cellular processes, such as cell differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. GSH deficiency has been observed in aging and in a wide range of pathologies, including neurodegenerative disorders and cystic fibrosis (CF), as well as in several viral infections. Use of GSH as a therapeutic agent is limited because of its unfavorable biochemical and pharmacokinetic properties. Several reports have provided evidence for the use of GSH prodrugs able to replenish intracellular GSH levels. This review discusses different strategies for increasing GSH levels by supplying reversible bioconjugates able to cross the cellular membrane more easily than GSH and to provide a source of thiols for GSH synthesis.
Keywords: glutathione; glutathione deficiency; glutathione prodrugs

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Cacciatore, I.; Cornacchia, C.; Pinnen, F.; Mollica, A.; Di Stefano, A. Prodrug Approach for Increasing Cellular Glutathione Levels. Molecules 2010, 15, 1242-1264.

AMA Style

Cacciatore I, Cornacchia C, Pinnen F, Mollica A, Di Stefano A. Prodrug Approach for Increasing Cellular Glutathione Levels. Molecules. 2010; 15(3):1242-1264.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cacciatore, Ivana; Cornacchia, Catia; Pinnen, Francesco; Mollica, Adriano; Di Stefano, Antonio. 2010. "Prodrug Approach for Increasing Cellular Glutathione Levels." Molecules 15, no. 3: 1242-1264.

Molecules EISSN 1420-3049 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert