Airway inflammation by eosinophils, neutrophils and alveolar macrophages is a characteristic feature of asthma that leads to pathological subepithelial thickening and remodeling. Our previous study showed that oxidative stress in airways resulted in eosinophilia and epithelial apoptosis. The current study investigated whether glutathione-containing dry yeast extract (dry-YE) ameliorated eosinophilia, goblet cell hyperplasia and mucus overproduction.

This study employed 2 µg/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- or 20 ng/mL eotaxin-1-exposed human bronchial epithelial cells and ovalbumin (OVA)-challenged mice. Dry-YE employed in this study contained a significant amount of glutathione (140 mg in 100 g dry yeast).

Human bronchial epithelial cell eotaxin-1 and mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) were markedly induced by the endotoxin LPS, which was dose-dependently attenuated by nontoxic dry-YE at 10-50 µg/mL. Moreover, dry-YE inhibited the MUC5AC induction enhanced by eotaxin-1, indicating that eotaxin-1-mediated eosinophilia may prompt the MUC5AC induction. Oral supplementation with 10-100 mg/kg dry-YE inhibited inflammatory cell accumulation in airway subepithelial regions with a reduction of lung tissue level of intracellular adhesion molecule-1. In addition, ≥ 50 mg/kg dry-YE diminished the lung tissue levels of eotaxin-1, eosinophil major basic protein and MUC5AC in OVA-exposed mice. Alcian blue/periodic acid schiff staining revealed that the dry-YE supplementation inhibited goblet cell hyperplasia and mucus overproduction in the trachea and bronchiolar airways of OVA-challenged mice.

Oxidative stress may be involved in the induction of eotaxin-1 and MUC5AC by endotoxin episode and OVA challenge. Dry-YE effectively ameliorated oxidative stress-responsive epithelial eosinophilia and mucus-secreting goblet cell hyperplasia in cellular and murine models of asthma.