ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2006
High-dose oral N-acetylcysteine, a glutathione prodrug, modulates inflammation in cystic fibrosis.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06260566 (A Phase 1 Trial of Tolerability of Enteral N-Acetylcysteine in Infants), which is not on this map. Cited by 104 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Phase 1 Trial of Tolerability of Enteral N-Acetylcysteine in Infants
Who cites it
104 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 252 citations in OpenAlex.
- Circulating biomarkers of antioxidant status and oxidative stress in people with cystic fibrosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Redox biology · 2020Pooled it
- Nebulized and oral thiol derivatives for pulmonary disease in cystic fibrosis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Effect of high dose N-acetyl cysteine supplementation on markers of oxidative stress and insulin resistance in non-diabetic patients with metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease: a randomized controlled trial.BMC gastroenterology · 2026Trial
- Response to Intravenous N-Acetylcysteine Supplementation in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19.Nutrients · 2023Trial
- Randomized controlled trial ofNeurology · 2020Trial
- N-Acetylcysteine Rinse for Thick Secretion and Mucositis of Head and Neck Chemoradiotherapy (Alliance MC13C2): A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial.Mayo Clinic proceedings · 2019Trial
- Phase I Studies of Acebilustat: Biomarker Response and Safety in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis.Clinical and translational science · 2017Trial
- A randomized controlled pilot trial of oral N-acetylcysteine in children with autism.Biological psychiatry · 2012Trial
- A phase II study on safety and efficacy of high-dose N-acetylcysteine in patients with cystic fibrosis.European journal of medical research · 2009Trial
- Mucoactive Agents in Muco-Obstructive Lung Diseases: A Critical Reappraisal of Pharmacological Effects and Clinical Outcomes.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- N-acetylcysteine: evidence based consensus document on the therapeutic advantages in respiratory diseases (NECTAR).Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Cystic fibrosis and inflammatory bowel disease: parallels in gut physiology and microbiota.Journal of bacteriology · 2025Review
- Mapping the oxidative landscape in cystic fibrosis: methodological frontiers and application.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- N-acetylcysteine in paediatrics: a review of efficacy, safety and dosing strategies in respiratory care.Drugs in context · 2025Review
- N-acetylcysteine Clinical Applications.Cureus · 2024Review
- Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Oxidant Properties of N-Acetylcysteine: A Fresh Perspective.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Niosomes loading N-acetyl-L-cysteine for cancer treatment in vivo study.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2024Article
- Mammalian target of rapamycin inhibition protects glioma cells from temozolomide-induced cell death.Cell death discovery · 2024Article
- Advances in the Use ofAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- How to Increase Cellular Glutathione.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
44 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Neutrophilic airway inflammation is a hallmark of cystic fibrosis (CF). As high oxidant producers, airway neutrophils contribute largely to the systemic redox imbalance seen in CF. In turn, this chronic and profound imbalance can impact circulating neutrophils before their migration into airways. Indeed, in 18 CF patients with stable disease, blood neutrophils were readily deficient in the pivotal antioxidant glutathione (P = 0.003, compared with 9 healthy controls). In a phase 1 study, this deficiency was improved (P = 0.025) by the glutathione prodrug N-acetylcysteine, given orally in high doses (0.6 to 1.0 g three times daily, for 4 weeks). This treatment was safe and markedly decreased sputum elastase activity (P = 0.006), the strongest predictor of CF pulmonary function. Consistently, neutrophil burden in CF airways was decreased upon treatment (P = 0.003), as was the number of airway neutrophils actively releasing elastase-rich granules (P = 0.005), as measured by flow cytometry. Pulmonary function measures were not improved, as expected with short-term treatment. After excluding data from subjects without baseline airway inflammation, positive treatment effects were more pronounced and included decreased sputum IL-8 levels (P = 0.032). Thus, high-dose oral N-acetylcysteine has the potential to counter the intertwined redox and inflammatory imbalances in CF.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.