Relationship of Blood and Liver Levels of Glutathione to Early Growth of Chicks

GLUTATHIONE (GSH) is widely distributed in living tissue and is maintained therein in relatively large amounts, as compared to most other soluble low molecular weight components of tissues. It appears to be primarily an intracellular substance, being present, if at all, in undetectable amounts in extracelllular fluids (Jocelyn, 1959; Long, 1961). Erythrocytes on the other hand contain, in common with cells in general, considerable amounts (Long, 1961). Owing to its thiol group GSH functions in oxidation-reduction reactions in tissues (Jocelyn, 1959; Mapson, 1959). It is capable of interaction in various ways with disulfide bridges of proteins (Jensen, 1959; Boyer et al., 1959); a function which is potentially of the utmost importance, as in mitosis (Rapkine, 1931; Mazia, 1954), and in the functioning of hormones (Ressler, 1958; Lazarow, 1954) and of thiol-dependent enyzmes (Vollmer, 1954; Boyer et al., 1959; Mapson, 1959), for instance. Ever since its isolation from yeast by Sir…