Glutathione transferase P1-1: self-preservation of an anti-cancer enzyme

Self-preservation is a typical property of living organisms, observed in the simplest prokaryotic cell as well as in the more complex pluricellular organisms. Surprisingly we found a self-preservation mechanism operating at the level of a single enzyme. Human glutathione transferase P1-1 operates in such a way towards either killer compounds (competitive and irreversible inhibitors) or physical factors (temperature and UV-rays), which could suppress its detoxicating and anti-cancer activity in the cell. This property, here termed ‘co-operative self-preservation’, is based on a structural intersubunit communication, by which one subunit, as a consequence of an inactivating modification, triggers a defence arrangement in the other subunit. Paradoxically this ability, developed during evolution for the survival of the cell, may not always be advantageous for us. In fact, glutathione transferase P1-1 is overexpressed in most tumour cells and pharmacological attempts to inhibit this enzyme in vivo, to prevent the drug resistance phenomenon during chemotherapy, may be thwarted by such self-preservation.