Glutathione analogue sorbents selectively bind glutathione S-transferase isoenzymes.

Novel affinity sorbents for glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) were created by binding glutathione (GSH) analogues to Sepharose 6B. The GSH molecule was modified at the glycine moiety and at the group attached to the sulphur of cysteine. When tested by affinity chromatography in a flow-through microplate format, several of these sorbents selectively bound GST isoenzymes. gamma E-C(Hx)-phi G (glutathione with a hexyl moiety bound to cysteine and phenylglycine substituted for glycine) specifically bound rat GST 7-7, the Pi-class isoenzyme, from liver, kidney and small intestine. gamma E-C(Bz)-beta A (benzyl bound to cysteine and beta-alanine substituted for glycine) was highly selective for rat subunits 3 and 4, which are Mu-class isoenzymes. By allowing purification of the isoenzymes under mild conditions that preserve activity, the novel sorbents should be useful in characterizing the biological roles of GSTs in both normal animal and cancer tissues.