[Effect of glutathione on the proteolytic degradation of tissue proteins in young and old rats].

The proteolysis rate of the total liver, brain and testicle homogenates from young and old rats was studied by proteolytic enzymes. The level of autolytic destruction of brain and liver proteins decreases with aging. The total liver, brain and testicle proteins of young animals are splitted by pronase faster than the proteins of the old ones. Addition of reduced glutathione to the reaction mixture causes an increase in the rate of liver and brain proteins splitting by pronase in old rats up to the level determined for the young animals. At the same time the effect of glutathione on the testicle tissue of old animals was not observed.