SynthesisInternational journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease2024
Impact of N-Acetylcysteine on Mucus Hypersecretion in the Airways: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The European respiratory society guideline for adult bronchiectasis 2025: summary and implementation guide for primary care.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2026Guideline
- From antidote to multimodal adjunct: a systematic review of N-acetylcysteine in dogs and cats.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Pooled it
- Remodeling the pathological airway: advanced nanotechnology for diagnostics and therapeutics in cystic fibrosis.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2026Review
- N-Acetylcysteine Attenuates Mancozeb-Induced Hepatorenal Injury by Modulating Oxidative Stress, Inflammatory Signaling, and Apoptotic Pathways in Rats.Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology · 2026Article
- Mucoactive Agents in Muco-Obstructive Lung Diseases: A Critical Reappraisal of Pharmacological Effects and Clinical Outcomes.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Aerosol Delivery of Polyelectrolyte Surfactant-Antimicrobial Nanoparticles to the Lungs.Pharmaceutical research · 2026Article
- Small airway dysfunction: a shared, early, measurable, and potentially treatable trait across COPD, asthma, and fibrotic lung disease.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Antibiofilm Effects of N-Acetyl Cysteine on Staphylococcal Biofilm in Patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis.Microorganisms · 2025Article
- N-acetylcysteine in paediatrics: a review of efficacy, safety and dosing strategies in respiratory care.Drugs in context · 2025Review
- Effective-Component Compatibility of Bufei Yishen Formula III Protects Lung Air-Blood Barrier by Regulating the Oxidative Stress: via the Nuclear Factor-EInternational journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2025Article
- Impact of Airway-Occluding Mucus Plugs on Mortality in Patients with COPD According to Disease Severity: A Subset Analysis of Data From COPDGene.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Mucus clearance is crucial for airway protection, and its dysfunction leads to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) characterized by mucus hypersecretion (MHS) and impaired clearance. MUC5AC and MUC5B mucin proteins are key components of airway mucus, with MUC5AC being particularly responsive to environmental stimuli, making it a potential COPD biomarker. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a mucolytic agent with known effects on mucus viscosity and clearance, but its precise mechanisms in COPD remain unclear. This systematic review evaluated the impact of NAC on MHS in the airways, reporting significant inhibitory effects on MUC5AC and MUC5B gene and protein expression, as well as a reduction in the number of goblet cells. NAC has demonstrated efficacy in vitro and in animal models of MHS, including COPD models, but data on human bronchial tissue are lacking. This systematic review suggests that NAC acts as a mucolytic and a mucoregulator, directly inhibiting mucus secretion and goblet cell hyperplasia. Given the critical role of MHS in COPD progression, exacerbations, and mortality, these findings highlight the potential of NAC as a targeted therapy for hypersecretion COPD phenotypes. However, further studies are needed to confirm the results of this systematic review, even in human bronchial tissue, to provide translatable evidence in clinical settings. Understanding the intimate mechanism of NAC
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