Biomed Pap Med Fac Univ Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub. 2019, 163(4):349-354 | DOI: 10.5507/bp.2019.002

Glutathione S-transferase enzyme activity and protein expression in patients with recurrent tonsillitis and idiopathic tonsillar hypertrophy

Sedat Aydin^a, Mehmet Gokhan Demir^b, Serpil Oguztuzun^c, Murat Kilic^d, Can Yilmaz^e, Onur Dirican^c

^a Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kartal Dr. Lutfi Kirdar Kartal Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

^b Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Etimesgut State Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

^c Department of Biology, Kirikkale University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Kirikkale, Turkey

^d Department of Pharmacy Services, Ankara University Vocational School of Health Services, Ankara, Turkey

^e Department of Molecular Biology and Genetic, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey

Objectives: The palatine tonsil is a significant part of the secondary immune system. Tonsillitis and idiopathic tonsillar hypertrophy (ITH) are the most common pathologies of this component. Although there are studies on their pathogenesis, there is insufficient study of the role of antioxidant agents. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) isozymes contribute to the antioxidation reactions in the tissue via the glutathione pathway. The purpose in this study was to reveal the levels of the GST enzyme activity and protein expression of GSTP1 and GSTA1 isozymes in patients with tonsillitis and tonsil hypertrophy, and to investigate their role in the pathogenesis of these diseases.

Materials and Methods: Sixteen patients with recurrent tonsillitis and 5 patients with ITH and were included in the study. Cytosolic extracts were prepared from post-tonsillectomy tissues of both patient groups and GST enzyme activities were measured.

Results: The expression of GSTP1 was found to be significantly higher than GSTA1 in tissue samples of patients with ITH and recurrent tonsillitis (P<0.001). Increased GST activity and GSTP1 isozyme expression were shown in patients with recurrent tonsillitis compared to the idiopathic tonsillar hypertrophy study group. There was a positive correlation between the expressions of GSTP1 (P=0.040; r=0.47).

Conclusion: Increased GST activity and GSTP1 isozymes were demonstrated histologically in the pathogenesis of ITH and recurrent tonsillitis. We believe that the data of changes in antioxidant capacity, obtained from studies with more extensive and larger samples, would support our findings.

Keywords: glutathione S-transferase, GSTA1, GSTP1, idiopathic tonsillar hypertrophy, recurrent tonsillitis

Received: August 5, 2018; Accepted: January 29, 2019; Prepublished online: February 12, 2019; Published: December 11, 2019  Show citation