Members of the glutathione S-transferase (GST) family of proteins function in the detoxification of xenobiotics to protect cells against toxicant-induced damage. There are eight families of GST proteins, namely alpha, zeta, theta, kappa, mu, pi, sigma and omega, each of which are composed of proteins that have a variety of functions throughout the cell. GSTK1 (glutathione S-transferase kappa 1), also known as glutathione S-transferase subunit 13 (GST 13-13) or GSTK1-1, is a 226 amino acid ubiquitously expressed protein belonging to the kappa class of the GST superfamily that functions in cellular detoxification. Localizing to peroxisome, GSTK1 exists as a homodimer that catalyzes the conjugation of glutathione to a number of hydrophobic substrates leading to their removal from the cell.
