 Glutathione is called an antioxidant because of its role in protecting cells from the damaging effects of these unstable molecules which are byproducts of energy production.Mutations in the "GSS" gene prevent cells from making adequate levels of glutathione, leading to the signs and symptoms of glutathione synthetase deficiency.This disorder is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, which means the defective gene is located on an autosome, and two copies of the gene - one from each parent - are required to be born with the disorder.