home > articles > copd & lung disorders > chronic alcoholism alters systemic and pulmonary glutathione redox status
Glutathione Articles - COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) & Lung Disorders
Chronic Alcoholism Alters Systemic and Pulmonary Glutathione Redox Status
Mary Y. Yeh, Ellen L. Burnham, Marc Moss,
and Lou Ann S. Brown
Am J Respir Crit Care Med Vol 176. pp 270–276, 2007
> download
full text version as a PDF
Rationale:
Previous studies have linked the development and severity of acute
respiratory distress syndrome with a history of alcohol abuse. In
clinical studies, this association has been centered on depletion of
pulmonary glutathione and subsequent chronic oxidant stress.
Objectives: The impact on redox potential of the plasma
or pulmonary pools, however, has never been reported.
Methods: Plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were
collected from otherwise healthy alcohol-dependent subjects and control
subjects matched by age, sex, and smoking history.
Measurements and Main Results: Redox potential was
calculated from measured reduced and oxidized glutathione in plasma and
lavage.
Among subjects who did and did not smoke, lavage fluid glutathione redox
potential was more oxidized in alcohol abusers by approximately 40 mV,
which was not altered by dilution. This oxidation of the airway lining
fluid associated with chronic alcohol abuse was independent of smoking
history. A shift by 20 mV in plasma
glutathione redox potential, however, was noted only in subjects who
both abused alcohol and smoked.
Conclusions: Chronic alcoholism was associated with
alveolar oxidation and, with smoking, systemic oxidation. However,
systemic oxidation did not accurately reflect the dramatic
alcohol-induced oxidant stress in the alveolar space. Although there was
compensation for the oxidant stress caused by smoking in control groups,
the capacity to maintain a reduced environment in the alveolar space was
overwhelmed in those who abused alcohol. The significant
alcohol-induced chronic oxidant stress in the alveolar space and the
subsequent ramifications may be an important modulator of
the increased incidence and severity of acute respiratory distress
syndrome in this vulnerable population.
Glutathione Experts | What is Glutathione (GSH)?
| Glutathione Articles |
GSH FAQs
| GSH & Diseases |
Contact
