Glutathione s-transferases M1 and P1 prevent aggravation of allergic responses by secondhand smoke

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Glutathione.

The researchers tested the hypotheses that functional GSTM1-null genotype and GSTP1 codon 105 variants (Ile105 and Val105) are determinants of allergic responses to SHS, and that responses to SHS and DEPs are correlated.

Why It Was Studied

Diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) and SHS can interact with allergens in exacerbating allergic airway diseases through generation of reactive oxygen species.

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) metabolize reactive oxygen species and detoxify electrophilic xenobiotics present in SHS and DEPs.

Who Took Part

PubMed indexes the participants as adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

In a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 19 ragweed allergen-sensitive subjects who had previously participated in a DEP trial were challenged intranasally with allergen after having been exposed to either clean air or SHS at separate visits.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Glutathione and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Glutathione could be set against what happens without it.

In the crossover set-up each of the participants took both Glutathione and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

Nasal allergen-specific IgE, histamine, IL-4, and IFN-gamma levels were measured before and after allergen challenge.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Allergens, Genotype, Glutathione S-Transferase pi, Glutathione Transferase, Histamine, Immunoglobulin E and Interferon-gamma.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, placebo-controlled and crossover study of Glutathione.

Its findings take up roughly 5 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2006 (American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine), a journal based in England.

More context: the Glutathione compound page, all human trials.