A role for glutathione disulfide as a scavenger of oxygen radicals produced by 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone.

The addition of 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone (CNQ) to isolated mitochondria supplemented with GSSG resulted in a respiratory burst with the production of O2- and H2O2, and a decrease in the level of measurable disulfide. Superoxide generated by the xanthine oxidase system or by CNQ-treated mitochondria caused the reduction of GSSG to GSH. Both disulfide reductions were partially sensitive to exogeneous SOD. GSSG was also shown to interfere with the epinephrine - adrenochrome superoxide assay system. The findings reported herein support the conclusion that GSSG is capable of scavenging O2- and has the potential to scavenge other free radicals by a similar mechanism.