Systemic glutathione deficiency, inflammation, and oxidative stress are hallmarks of cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease that causes persistent lung infections and severe damage to the respiratory system and many of the body organs. Improvements to current antioxidant therapeutic strategies are needed. The dietary supplement, gamma-glutamylcysteine (GGC), which is the immediate precursor to glutathione, rapidly boosts cellular glutathione levels following a single dose in healthy individuals.
GGC was recently used in a study by a group of scientists at the University of New South Wales on cell lines from individuals with cystic fibrosis in a series of revealing in vitro studies [1]. The efficacy of GGC against oxidative stress induced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is a common and chronic pathogen infecting lungs of cystic fibrosis patients was evaluated. When assessed as both a prophylactic and as a treatment GGC effectively attenuated some forms of oxidative stress, while significantly increasing total intracellular glutathione levels, metabolic viability and improving epithelial cell barrier integrity.
Together, these findings indicate that GGC has therapeutic potential for treatment and prevention of oxidative stress-related damage to airways in cystic fibrosis.
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Reference
1. Hewson, C.K.C., A.; Wong, S.L.; Pandzic, E.; Zhong, L.; Fernando, B.S.M.; Awatade, N.T.; Hart-Smith, G.; Whan, R.M.; Thomas, S.R.; Jaffe, A.; Bridge, W.J.; Waters, S.A., Novel Antioxidant Therapy with the Immediate Precursor to Glutathione, γ-Glutamylcysteine (GGC), Ameliorates LPS-Induced Cellular Stress in In Vitro 3D-Differentiated Airway Model from Primary Cystic Fibrosis Human Bronchial Cells. Antoxidants, 2020. 9: p. 1204. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/9/12/1204/htm