Endogenous production of reactive oxygen species by the NADPH oxidase complexes is a determinant of γ-glutamyltransferase expression.

γ-Glutamyltransferase (GGT) plays a significant role in antioxidant defence and participates in the metabolism of glutathione (GSH). The enzyme is up-regulated after acute oxidative stress and during pro-oxidant periods, but the underlying regulatory mechanisms are not well known. The present investigation studied whether the endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was a determinant for GGT expression. A substantial amount of ROS is produced through the NADPH oxidase (NOX) system and knockdown of p22phox, a sub-unit of NOX1-4, resulted not only in reduced ROS levels but also in reduced GGT expression in human endometrial carcinoma cells. Phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) is an activator of NOX and it was found that PMA treatment of human colon carcinoma cells both increased cellular ROS levels and subsequently up-regulated GGT expression. On the other hand, the NOX inhibitor apocynin reduced ROS levels as well as GGT expression. The GGT mRNA sub-type A was increased after PMA-induced NOX activation. These results demonstrate that ROS generated from NOX enzymes are a significant determinant for GGT expression and activity.