Kinscherf R, Fischbach T, Mihm S, Roth S, Hohenhaus-Sievert E, Weiss C, Edler L, Bärtsch P, Dröge W
Department of Immunochemistry, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany.
FASEB J. 1994 Apr 1;8(6):448-51.
HIV-infected individuals and SIV-infected rhesus macaques have, on the average, decreased plasma cysteine and cystine concentrations and decreased intracellular glutathione levels. We show that the cysteine supply and the intracellular glutathione levels have a strong influence on the T cell system. A study of healthy human subjects revealed that persons with intracellular glutathione levels of 20-30 nmol/mg protein had significantly higher numbers of CD4+ T cells than persons with either lower or higher glutathione levels. Persons who moved during a 4-week observation period from the optimal to the suboptimal range (10-20 nmol/mg) experienced, on the average, a 30% decrease in CD4+ T cell numbers. This decrease was prevented by treatment with N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). NAC caused this relative increase of CD4+ T cell numbers in spite of decreasing glutathione levels and not by increasing the glutathione level. Our studies suggest that the immune system may be exquisitely sensitive not only against a cysteine and glutathione deficiency but also against an excess of cysteine.
感染HIV的个体和感染SIV的恒河猴，血浆半胱氨酸和胱氨酸浓度平均降低，细胞内谷胱甘肽水平也降低。我们发现半胱氨酸供应和细胞内谷胱甘肽水平对T细胞系统有强烈影响。一项针对健康人类受试者的研究显示，细胞内谷胱甘肽水平为20 - 30 nmol/mg蛋白质的人，其CD4 + T细胞数量显著高于谷胱甘肽水平较低或较高的人。在4周观察期内从最佳范围（20 - 30 nmol/mg）降至次优范围（10 - 20 nmol/mg）的人，其CD4 + T细胞数量平均减少了30%。用N - 乙酰半胱氨酸（NAC）治疗可防止这种减少。尽管谷胱甘肽水平降低，但NAC导致了CD4 + T细胞数量的相对增加，而不是通过提高谷胱甘肽水平来实现。我们的研究表明，免疫系统不仅可能对半胱氨酸和谷胱甘肽缺乏极其敏感，而且对半胱氨酸过量也极其敏感。
