The glutathione-related detoxification pathway in the human breast: a highly coordinated system disrupted in the tumour tissues

• Published in: Cancer letters Vol. 158; no. 1; pp. 7 - 16
• Main Authors: Perquin, Magali, Oster, Thierry, Maul, Armand, Froment, Nicolas, Untereiner, Michel, Bagrel, Denyse
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 29.09.2000; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Breast - enzymology; Breast - metabolism; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - enzymology; Breast Neoplasms - metabolism; Cancer resistance; Chemical Sciences; Female; Glutathione - metabolism; Glutathione Peroxidase - metabolism; Glutathione Reductase - metabolism; Glutathione system; Glutathione Transferase - metabolism; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Inactivation, Metabolic - physiology; Life Sciences; Mammary gland diseases; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Regulation; Tumors; Glutathione system; Cancer resistance; Breast cancer; Regulation; Antineoplastic agent; Glutathione reductase (NADPH); Menopause; Tumoral tissue; Enzymatic activity; Glutathione transferase; Tumor progression; Molecular epidemiology; Female; Mammary gland; Glutathione; Glutathione peroxidase; Human; Redox state; Enzyme; Transferases; Detoxication; Malignant tumor; In vitro; Mammary gland diseases; Chemotherapy; Sensitivity resistance; Treatment; Peroxidases; Interindividual comparison; Oxidoreductases
• ISSN: 0304-3835; 1872-7980
• DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3835(00)00481-X

Glutathione and the associated enzymes, glutathione S-transferases, peroxidases, and reductase, have been implicated in cancer chemoresistance. This pathway was investigated in paired cancerous and peritumoral breast samples from 41 women. The tumours exhibited a higher redox status as deduced from increased transferase, peroxidase, and reductase activities and from higher total and reduced glutathione contents. Several components were strongly correlated in peritumoral tissues, suggesting a highly co-ordinated glutathione pathway that appeared disrupted in breast tumours with only a few correlations left. Therefore, resistance could spontaneously result from deregulated variations in the glutathione pathway, which might be relevant to the malignant disease progression.