Developmental and Diamide-Induced Differences in Rat Renal Cortical Glutathione Levels 1

Summary

The effect of prolonged incubations (up to 90 min) on reduced glutathione (GSH) levels has been studied and compared in renal cortical slices from newborn and adult Sprague-Dawley rats. While newborn levels of GSH remained constant during incubation, adult levels continued to fall, reaching about 50% of control levels by 90 min. Significant decrease in GSH of adult slices could be achieved by 30 min of incubation using 0.5 mM diamide, a known glutathione oxidant. On the other hand, 2.0 mM diamide, was required in newborn slices to achieve a significant reduction in GSH levels. Using 2.0 mM diamide in both newborn and adult slices, the time course of the effect of diamide on GSH was examined. Newborn GSH levels dropped to 52% of controls within 15 min, while adult slices were able to maintain levels between 40 and 50% of controls until about 30 min. These differences are attributed to developmental changes in membrane-diamide interactions, making diamide a potentially useful probe for investigation of developmental alterations in membrane structure.