Publications by authors named "Arbi Abnousian"

Thrombotic microangiopathy has been identified as a dominant mechanism for increased mortality and morbidity in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In the context of severe COVID-19, patients may develop immunothrombosis within the microvasculature of the lungs, which contributes to the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a leading cause of death in the disease. Immunothrombosis is thought to be mediated in part by increased levels of cytokines, fibrin clot formation, and oxidative stress.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) accounts for a fifth of all () infections worldwide. The rise of multidrug resistance in alongside the hepatotoxicity associated with antibiotics presents challenges in managing and treating tuberculosis (TB), thereby prompting a need for new therapeutic approaches. Administration of liposomal glutathione (L-GSH) has previously been shown to lower oxidative stress, enhance a granulomatous response, and reduce the burden of in the lungs of -infected mice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

(), a type of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), poses a risk for pulmonary infections and disseminated infections in immunocompromised individuals. Conventional treatment consists of a 12-month regimen of the first-line antibiotics rifampicin and azithromycin. However, the treatment duration and low antibiotic tolerability present challenges in the treatment of infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Glutathione (GSH) plays a key role as an intracellular antioxidant that helps neutralize harmful reactive oxygen species and has been shown to improve immune responses in various patient groups.
  • A study tested a topical formulation of glutathione-cyclodextrin nanoparticles (GSH-CD) on healthy participants, comparing its effects to a placebo over three days, measuring blood markers of antioxidant levels and immune responses.
  • Results indicated that GSH-CD treatment significantly enhanced GSH levels, reduced malondialdehyde (MDA), and improved cytokine production, leading to better clearance of mycobacterium infections and suggesting that this formulation could serve as an effective and safe method for GSH delivery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Glutathione (GSH) is an antioxidant in human cells that is utilized to prevent damage occurred by reactive oxygen species, free radicals, peroxides, lipid peroxides, and heavy metals. Due to its immunological role in tuberculosis (TB), GSH is hypothesized to play an important part in the immune response against infection. In fact, one of the hallmark structures of TB is granuloma formation, which involves many types of immune cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of mortality due to infectious disease and rates have increased during the emergence of COVID-19, but many of the factors determining disease severity and progression remain unclear. Type I Interferons (IFNs) have diverse effector functions that regulate innate and adaptive immunity during infection with microorganisms. There is well-documented literature on type I IFNs providing host defense against viruses; however, in this review, we explore the growing body of work that indicates high levels of type I IFNs can have detrimental effects to a host fighting TB infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Coronaviruses are a family of RNA viruses, with COVID-19 being caused by SARS-CoV-2, which spreads mainly through respiratory droplets and can lead to serious respiratory conditions.
  • Glutathione, an antioxidant that helps in immune response, plays a role in how severe COVID-19 symptoms can become due to its interaction with inflammatory factors during infection.
  • Research is ongoing into the use of glutathione as a potential treatment for COVID-19, as it may help reduce inflammation and lower the severity of symptoms while vaccines and monoclonal antibodies remain key methods for prevention and treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are critical for maintaining immune homeostasis, but their presence in tumor tissues impairs anti-tumor immunity and portends poor prognoses in cancer patients. Here, we reveal a mechanism to selectively target and reprogram the function of tumor-infiltrating Tregs (TI-Tregs) by exploiting their dependency on the histone H3K27 methyltransferase enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) in tumors. Disruption of EZH2 activity in Tregs, either pharmacologically or genetically, drove the acquisition of pro-inflammatory functions in TI-Tregs, remodeling the tumor microenvironment and enhancing the recruitment and function of CD8 and CD4 effector T cells that eliminate tumors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF