Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41750595›Full record

ReviewAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)2026

Glutathione-Mediated Redox Regulation of Immune Dysfunction in COVID-19 and Tuberculosis.

John Dawi, Scarlet Affa, Yura Misakyan, Edgar Gonzalez, Stephen Affa, Vishwanath Venketaraman

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

John DawiCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA 91766, USA.ORCID 0009-0002-1860-3697
Scarlet AffaDepartment of Biochemistry and Chemistry, The College, University of Los Angeles California, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Yura MisakyanCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA 91766, USA.
Edgar GonzalezCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA 91766, USA.
Stephen AffaDepartment of Biochemistry and Chemistry, The College, University of Los Angeles California, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Vishwanath VenketaramanCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA 91766, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2586-1160

Funding

Glutathione depletion in the CNS and its effects on Mtb infectionR15HL143545 · NHLBI · WESTERN UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES · PI VENKETARAMAN, VISHWANATH · 2019 to 2024
$852k
NHLBI NIH HHS R15 HL143545
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tuberculosis and coronavirus disease 2019, also known as COVID-19, remain major global health challenges that disproportionately affect individuals with metabolic disorders, chronic inflammation, and limited access to healthcare. Although these diseases are caused by different pathogens, they share important host-related determinants of severity, including immune dysfunction, oxidative stress, endothelial injury, and maladaptive inflammatory responses. Glutathione, the primary intracellular antioxidant and a key regulator of redox balance, has emerged as an important host factor connecting these processes across infectious diseases. This review integrates experimental, translational, and clinical evidence supporting the role of glutathione in regulating immune function, oxidative stress, and tissue damage in tuberculosis and COVID-19. In tuberculosis, glutathione deficiency compromises macrophage antimicrobial activity, disrupts granuloma structure, and alters T helper cell responses, leading to impaired immune containment and disease progression. In COVID-19, reduced glutathione levels are associated with redox imbalance, excessive cytokine signaling, endothelial dysfunction, and thromboinflammatory complications, especially in high-risk populations. In both diseases, glutathione depletion reduces host resilience and increases vulnerability to severe outcomes through shared immune and vascular pathways. By unifying disease-specific findings within a host-directed framework, this review highlights glutathione and redox signaling as common vulnerability pathways that help explain overlapping risk profiles for severe tuberculosis and COVID-19. It also places glutathione biology within the broader context of host-directed immunotherapy, emphasizing its potential role in prevention-focused and resilience-based strategies that complement pathogen-targeted treatments. Although current evidence does not support simple claims of disease prevention, it provides strong mechanistic justification for further investigation of glutathione as a modifiable host factor in high-risk populations.

Indexed as

COVID-19glutathioneimmune dysregulationredox homeostasistuberculosis

Identifiers

PMID41750595
PMCPMC12938642

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.