Comparative Study of Glutathione S-Transferase Activity of Three Human Erythrocyte Genotypes Infected With Plasmodium falciparum

Investigation to ascertain the levels of glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity of three human erythrocyte genotypes (HbAA, HbAS and HbSS) obtained from apparently healthy and clinically confirmed malarious subjects/volunteers was carried out. The incubation of human erythrocytes with 1-chloro-2,4- dinitrobenzene (CDNB) resulted in almost quantitative conjugation of glutathione (GSH) to form S-(2,4- dinitrophenyl) glutathione. The reaction formed the basis for the spectrophotometric determination of GST activity. The levels of GST activity of the red cell genotypes was in the order of HbAA HbAS HbSS. There was no significant difference (p 0.05) between GST activity of HbAA and HbAS erythrocytes. The results also showed red blood cells infected with Plasmodium falciparum exhibited significantly lower levels of GST activity compared to erythrocytes obtained from apparently healthy non-malarious individuals. Furthermore, gender did not significantly (p 0.05) affect erythrocyte GST activity of non-malarious subjects/volunteers. The study suggests that GST activity evaluation might be a reliable biochemical marker and possess promising rational for diagnostic potential in malaria.