Glutathione exhibits antibacterial activity and increases tetracycline efficacy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Glutathione (GSH) plays important roles in pulmonary diseases, and inhaled GSH therapy has been used to treat cystic fibrosis (CF) patients in clinical trials. The results in this report revealed that GSH altered the sensitivity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to different antibiotics through pathways unrelated to the oxidative stress as generally perceived. In addition, GSH and its oxidized form inhibited the growth of P. aeruginosa. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 30870097 and 30611120520)