Glutathione and the regulation of cell death.

The association of elevated levels of glutathione and glutathione S-transferases with the development of resistance to alkylating agents was established more than 10 years ago. Although numerous similar reports have appeared since this time work in this area has tended to dwindle as interest has become focused on more fashionable areas of drug resistance research. However, over the past 3 or 4 years there has been a revival of interest in the study of glutathione and glutathione utilising enzymes driven by recent discoveries which have implicated redox balance as an important regulator of cell death and transmembrane drug transport. In this brief review I highlight some of the more rapid areas of advance.