Highlights
- •We tested the in vivo effect of ribose-cysteine on glutathione and plasma lipids.
- •Ribose-cysteine increased GSH and GPx activity and lowered oxidised lipids.
- •Ribose-cysteine significantly decreased LDL, apoB and Lp(a) levels.
- •Ribose-cysteine might be an ideal intervention to increase protection against CVD.
Abstract
Objective: d-ribose-l-cysteine (ribose-cysteine) is a cysteine analogue designed to increase the synthesis
of glutathione (GSH). GSH is a cofactor for glutathione peroxidase (GPx), the redox enzyme that catalyses the reduction of lipid peroxides. A low GPx activity and increased oxidised lipids are associated with the development of cardiovascular
disease (CVD). Here we aimed to investigate the effect of ribose-cysteine supplementation
on GSH, GPx, lipid oxidation products and plasma lipids in vivo. Methods: Human lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] transgenic mice were treated with 4 mg/day ribose-cysteine
(0.16 g/kg body weight) for 8 weeks. Livers and blood were harvested from treated
and untreated controls (n = 9 per group) and GSH concentrations, GPx activity, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), 8-isoprostanes and plasma
lipid concentrations were measured. Results: Ribose-cysteine increased GSH concentrations in the liver and plasma (P < 0.05). GPx activity was increased in both liver (1.7 fold, P < 0.01) and erythrocytes (3.5 fold, P < 0.05). TBARS concentrations in the liver, plasma and aortae were significantly
reduced with ribose-cysteine (P < 0.01, P < 0.0005 and P < 0.01, respectively) as were the concentrations of 8-isoprostanes in the liver and
aortae (P < 0.0005, P < 0.01, respectively). Ribose-cysteine treated mice showed significant decreases
in LDL, Lp(a) and apoB concentrations (P < 0.05, P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively), an effect which was associated with upregulation of the LDL
receptor (LDLR).Conclusions: As ribose-cysteine lowers LDL, Lp(a) and oxidised lipid concentrations, it might
be an ideal intervention to increase protection against the development of atherosclerosis.
Keywords
Abbreviations:
CVD (cardiovascular disease), Lp(a) (lipoprotein(a)), LDL (low density lipoprotein), HDL (high density lipoprotein), TG (triglycerides), apoB (apolipoproteinB-100), GSH (glutathione), GPx (glutathione peroxidase), TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 01, 2014
Accepted:
October 31,
2014
Received in revised form:
October 30,
2014
Received:
June 6,
2014
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
