Introduction: Glutathione S - transferase (GST) is an important enzyme in detoxification and helps in lowering oxidative stress. It is speculated that this enzyme is induced under conditions of oxidative stress as a protective mechanism.
Aim: To evaluate the status of Glutathione S-transferase in Coronary artery disease patients with and without type 2 Diabetes mellitus.
Materials and methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Biotechnology, Swami Satyanand College of Management and Technology in collaboration with Department of Biochemistry, Govt Medical College Amritsar. A total of 133 diagnosed cases of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) were selected from the OPD and Medicine Ward of a private hospital, Amritsar. CAD patients were segregated into two groups i.e., group-1 and group-2 on the basis if they had Type 2 Diabetes mellitus or not. A total of 110 ages and sex matched healthy individuals were taken as controls from the general population. Written informed consent was obtained from all the subjects. All the subjects were investigated for serum GST activity, Total antioxidant status, plasma GSH levels, serum MDA and lipid profile.
Results: Serum GST activity was significantly high (p<0.05) in CAD patients as compared to controls. CAD patients having Type 2 Diabetes had more raised serum GST activity, indicating marked oxidative stress in these patients. This was supported from the observation that serum MDA levels were also significantly (p<0.05) high in CAD patients with Type 2 Diabetes mellitus. Total antioxidant status was significantly depressed (p<0.05) in CAD patients whether diabetic or non-diabetic as compared to controls. No significant difference (p>0.05) in plasma GSH levels were observed between CAD patients and controls. Age and sex related variations in serum GST activity were insignificant (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Increased serum GST activity in CAD patients especially with Type 2 Diabetes is suggestive of a protective mechanism to combat increased oxidative stress which was reflected by raised serum MDA level and depressed total antioxidant status in patient group. However, whether this effect is a short term or long term, a separate follow up study is required.
Keywords: Antioxidant enzyme; Detoxication; Oxidative stress.