Protective effect of levamisole and its sulfhydryl metabolite OMPI against cell death induced by glutathione depletion

Levamisole protects cultured cells against auto-oxidative necrosis induced by glutathione depletion. The sulfhydryl metabolite, OMPI, is approximately 100 times more active in this respect. As is the case for vitamin E and synthetic antioxidants, the cell rescue is not due to the inhibition of glutathione depletion but probably to a direct radical scavenging effect. The data suggest the following hypothesis: the immunomodulatingg effect of levamisole is at least partially due to its metabolite OMPI which enhances leukocyte functions by scavenging deleterious oxidative radicals the formation of which is enhanced in activated cells.