The idea that GSH may play an anti-inflammatory role became popular in the 1990s with a study by Schreck et al 15 showing that antioxidants inhibit, whereas ROS activate, the transcription factor NF-κB that commands the transcription of several inflammatory genes, 16 a role that has been confirmed in the lung. 17 In fact, a protective role of GSH against inflammatory pathologies of the lung has been demonstrated by the protective effect of different GSH-precursors in various animal models ( Table 2) .