Roles of catalase and the glutathione redox cycle in the regulation of anterior-chamber hydrogen peroxide.

The effects of inhibition of both glutathione synthesis and of glutathione reductase and catalase activities have been determined in the regulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the anterior chamber of pigmented rabbits. Glutathione reductase inhibition using intravitreal 1,3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) did not significantly alter either total glutathione or the percent oxidized glutathione fraction in the iris-ciliary body. Intravitreal buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) significantly reduced the total glutathione content of iris-ciliary body and corneal endothelium, while not altering the oxidized fraction. BCNU increased the oxidized fraction of glutathione in the aqueous humor from 22 to 63% without significantly altering total glutathione levels. BSO, however, reduced total glutathione by 70% in the aqueous humor, and the oxidized fraction doubled. Decreases in the reduced glutathione concentration caused by BSO correlate with increases in the normally stable ratio of H2O2 to ascorbate concentrations in the aqueous humor, strongly suggesting that glutathione metabolism is correlated with H2O2 regulation at endogenous levels of this oxidant. Both BSO and 3-aminotriazole (3AT) separately increased the half-time for the loss of exogenously added H2O2 from the anterior chamber. BSO increased the half-time by 77% after 10 microliters of 10 mM H2O2 was injected intracamerally, while suppression of catalase activity with 3AT increased it by only 40%. With intracameral injections of 10 microliters of either 25 or 50 mM H2O2, however, 3AT had a greater effect than BSO. The half-time values after 3AT pretreatment were 61 and 135% greater than control values at the concentrations of 25 and 50 mM H2O2, respectively; those after BSO pretreatment were at 14 and 78%. From these data we conclude that the glutathione redox system protects the anterior segment tissues from hydrogen peroxide at low concentrations of this oxidant, while catalase assumes a greater role at higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide.