Insulin degradation in human erythrocyte. Effects of reduced glutathione on insulin degradation by membrane fractions.

In this study the Authors have evaluated the effects of reduced glutathione on insulin-degrading activity of erythrocyte membrane fractions. The GSH increases, in a manner proportional to its concentration, the insulin degradation by intact membranes, solubilized proteins and membranes treated with Triton X-100. The net increase of degradation is greater for intact and extracted membranes than for solubilized proteins. These data suggest that in human erythrocyte membrane exists an enzymatic system GSH-dependent for insulin degradation and that this system is only partially solubilized by Triton X-100 treatment.