Quantitation of glutathione, glutathione disulphide, and protein-glutathione mixed disulphides by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

Protein-glutathione mixed disulphides (PSSG) are an important redox-sensitive posttranslational modification. Quantitation of protein-glutathione mixed disulphides (PSSG) is achieved by the reduction of the disulphide bond to liberate glutathione (GSH); however, this method leaves the assay susceptible to contamination by cytosolic GSH and glutathione disulphide (GSSG) captured during protein precipitation. The method herein describes a workflow in which protein from mouse liver is precipitated and adventitious GSH contamination is removed by reaction with N-ethylmaleimide. The sample is divided into two equal aliquots, a control aliquot that allows for direct quantitation of adventitious GSSG and a chemically reduced aliquot that contains GSH from both the GSSG and PSSG disulphides. Determining the concentration of adventitious GSSG allows for correction of the latter value to provide an accurate assay of PSSG. This assay also provides quantitation of cytosolic GSH and GSSG.