The serene phrase, Lest I forget thee, glutathione ..., coined by the Kosowers (1) to describe the state in the 1960's, must be replaced now by something like "Inevitable GSH" in order to characterize the current situation. The surge in interest on the ubiquitous tripeptide has been ama- zing, with publications on GSH running at rates as high as one per day, so that it seemed appropriate to convene international experts for a discussion of recent develop- ments this year. Unlike the two previous meetings in this decade held in Tlibingen in 1973 (2) and in santa Ynez in 1975 (3), the scope was...

Glutamine is a key aminoacid for the synthesis of numerous biologic- ally important compounds in mammalian cells and is a carrier form of ammonia. The advance in knowledge on the metabolic significance of this amino acid is presented in in-depth treatments by experts in this active research field. This includes the enzymology of glutamine synthe- tase and glutaminase activities in different mammalian organs, notably liver, kidney and brain; properties of glutamine transport across bio- logical membranes; role of glutamine metabolism in the liver, with emphasis on the recent discovery of...