The possible nuclear compartmentalization of glutathione S-transferase (GST) isoenzymes has been the subject of contradictory reports. The discovery that the dinitrosyl-diglutathionyl-iron complex binds tightly to Alpha class GSTs in rat hepatocytes and that a significant part of the bound complex is also associated with the nuclear fraction (Pedersen, J. Z., De Maria, F., Turella, P., Federici, G., Mattei, M., Fabrini, R., Dawood, K. F., Massimi, M., Caccuri, A. M., and Ricci, G. (2007) J. Biol. Chem. 282, 6364 -6371) prompted us to reconsider the nuclear localization of GSTs in these cells. Surprisingly, we found that a considerable amount of GSTs corresponding to 10% of the cytosolic pool is electrostatically associated with the outer nuclear membrane, and a similar quantity is compartmentalized inside the nucleus. Mainly Alpha class GSTs, in particular GSTA1-1, GSTA2-2, and GSTA3-3, are involved in this double modality of interaction. Confocal microscopy, immunofluorescence experiments, and molecular modeling have been used to detail the electrostatic association in hepatocytes and liposomes. A quantitative analysis of the membrane-bound Alpha GSTs suggests the existence of a multilayer assembly of these enzymes at the outer nuclear envelope that could represent an amazing novelty in cell physiology. The interception of potentially noxious compounds to prevent DNA damage could be the possible physiological role of the perinuclear and intranuclear localization of Alpha GSTs.
Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs)2 are a superfamily of enzymes that protect the cell from toxic endogenous or xenobiotic compounds. Eight different gene-independent, isoenzymatic classes have been found in mammals, and two of these, Alpha and Mu classes, are abundantly expressed in rat liver, where they represent 43 and 56%, respectively, of the entire pool of cytosolic GSTs (1). Beside their catalytic competence to conjugate GSH to many toxic substances having an electrophilic center, these enzymes also display peroxidase activity and ligandin properties (2, 3). In hepatocytes, Alpha GSTs efficiently trap a natural nitric oxide carrier, the dinitrosyl-diglutathionyl-iron complex (DNDGIC), thus preventing the irreversible inhibition of glutathione reductase caused by this compound (4). Preliminary evidence was also reported that GSTs could be associated with the nuclear membrane or compartmentalized in nuclei. The presence of GSTs on intracellular membranes is not a new finding. MGST1 is a peculiar trimeric microsomal integral membrane isoenzyme discovered and characterized many years ago (5). GSTA4-4, a specific isoenzyme able to detoxify hydroxyalkenals, displays a widespread mitochondrial, peroxisomal, and cytosolic localization, but the plasma membrane also binds detectable amounts of this enzyme (6). Furthermore, the tight association of Alpha and Mu class GSTs with the microsomal membrane fraction of rat liver was demonstrated by Morgenstern et al. (7), and about 2% of the cytosolic GSTA1-1 has been found in the microsomal membrane...