Cysteine and glutathione levels in developing rat kidney and liver.

Intracellular levels of cysteine (CSH) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in the kidney and liver of rats from the newborn to the adult period have been determined using a sensitive high performance liquid chromatography method. In the kidney, the intracellular level of free CSH increased 4-fold from 1 to 4 nmol/mg protein with GSH levels which ranged from 20 to 25 nmol/mg protein from the 10th to 21st postnatal day, respectively. In contrast, intracellular free hepatic CSH showed a biphasic pattern with development. Intracellular free hepatic GSH, on the other hand, increased 2-fold over the 3- to 21-day postnatal period. In adult tissues, intracellular levels of free CSH and GSH decreased as compared with levels in 21-day postnatal animals. When ratios of CSH to GSH were compared between tissues from the 3-day-old postnatal and adult rat, CSH:GSH increased approximately 4-fold in the kidney and decreased 2- to 3-fold in the liver.