Glutathione S Transferase kappa 1: Proteins and Enzymes

Glutathione transferases (GSTs) are a superfamily of enzymes that play a vital functional role in the cellular detoxification process. They catalyze the conjugation of the thiol group of glutathione (GSH) to the electrophilic groups of a wide range of hydrophobic substrates, leading to an easier removal of the latter from the cells (1) The Kappa class of GSTs comprises soluble enzymes originally isolated from the mitochondrial matrix of rats. Gsk1 catalyses some typical GST reactions, it has been proposed that it is structurally distinct from other classes of cytosolic GSTs (2). Gsk1 has been identified in rat, mouse, and human. The C terminus of Gsk1 was essential for localization of the protein to peroxisomes, and the C-terminal sequence Ala-Arg-Leu represents a peroxisome targeting signal (3).