scholarly journals Animal models of chronic lung infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa: useful tools for cystic fibrosis studies

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Kukavica-Ibrulj ◽  
R C Levesque

Summary Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by a defect in the transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein that functions as a chloride channel. Dysfunction of the CFTR protein results in salty sweat, pancreatic insufficiency, intestinal obstruction, male infertility and severe pulmonary disease. In most patients with CF life expectancy is limited due to a progressive loss of functional lung tissue. Early in life a persistent neutrophylic inflammation can be demonstrated in the airways. The cause of this inflammation, the role of CFTR and the cause of lung morbidity by different CF-specific bacteria, mostly Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are not well understood. The lack of an appropriate animal model with multi-organ pathology having the characteristics of the human form of CF has hampered our understanding of the pathobiology and chronic lung infections of the disease for many years. This review summarizes the main characteristics of CF and focuses on several available animal models that have been frequently used in CF research. A better understanding of the chronic lung infection caused particularly by P. aeruginosa, the pathophysiology of lung inflammation and the pathogenesis of lung disease necessitates animal models to understand CF, and to develop and improve treatment.

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 957
Author(s):  
Sebastián A. Riquelme ◽  
Alice Prince

Prevailing dogma indicates that the lung of cystic fibrosis (CF) individuals is infected by multiple pathogens due to the abundant accumulation of mucus, which traps most of inhaled organisms. However, this hypothesis does not explain how specific opportunists, like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are selected in the CF lung to cause chronic disease. This strongly suggests that other factors than mucus are accrued in the human airway and might predispose to bacterial disease, especially by P. aeruginosa. In this review we discuss the role of macrophage metabolites, like succinate and itaconate, in P. aeruginosa pneumonia. We analyze how dysfunction of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) favors release of these metabolites into the infected airway, and how P. aeruginosa exploits these elements to induce transcriptomic and metabolic changes that increase its capacity to cause intractable disease. We describe the host and pathogen pathways associated with succinate and itaconate catabolism, mechanisms of bacterial adaptation to these determinants, and suggest how both experimental settings and future therapies should consider macrophage metabolites abundance to better study P. aeruginosa pathogenesis.


2002 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey B. Lyczak ◽  
Carolyn L. Cannon ◽  
Gerald B. Pier

SUMMARY While originally characterized as a collection of related syndromes, cystic fibrosis (CF) is now recognized as a single disease whose diverse symptoms stem from the wide tissue distribution of the gene product that is defective in CF, the ion channel and regulator, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Defective CFTR protein impacts the function of the pancreas and alters the consistency of mucosal secretions. The latter of these effects probably plays an important role in the defective resistance of CF patients to many pathogens. As the modalities of CF research have changed over the decades from empirical histological studies to include biophysical measurements of CFTR function, the clinical management of this disease has similarly evolved to effectively address the ever-changing spectrum of CF-related infectious diseases. These factors have led to the successful management of many CF-related infections with the notable exception of chronic lung infection with the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The virulence of P. aeruginosa stems from multiple bacterial attributes, including antibiotic resistance, the ability to utilize quorum-sensing signals to form biofilms, the destructive potential of a multitude of its microbial toxins, and the ability to acquire a mucoid phenotype, which renders this microbe resistant to both the innate and acquired immunologic defenses of the host.


Impact ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (3) ◽  
pp. 52-54
Author(s):  
Nicolas Lamontagne

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive life–shortening disease caused by a mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene leading to a dysfunctional CFTR protein. The disease affects over 70,000 patients worldwide and while many mutations are known, the F508del mutation affects 90% of all patients. The absence of CFTR in the plasma membrane leads to a dramatic decrease in chloride efflux, resulting in viscous mucus that causes severe symptoms in vital organs like the lungs and intestines. For CF patients that suffer from the life threatening F508del mutation only palliative treatment exist. PRO–CF–MED addresses the specific challenge of this call by introducing the first disease modifying medication for the treatment of the CF patients with F508del mutation. The PRO–CF–MED project has been designed to assess the potential clinical efficacy of QR–010, an innovative disease modifying oligonucleotide–based treatment for F508del patients. Partners within PRO–CF–MED have generated very promising preclinical evidence for QR–010 which allows for further clinical assessment of QR–010 in clinical trials. PRO–CF–MED will enable the fast translation of QR–010 towards clinical practice and market authorisation. PRO–CF–MED has the potential to transform this life–threatening condition into a manageable one.


2018 ◽  
Vol 314 (4) ◽  
pp. L635-L641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manon Ruffin ◽  
Lucie Roussel ◽  
Émilie Maillé ◽  
Simon Rousseau ◽  
Emmanuelle Brochiero

Cystic fibrosis patients exhibit chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa respiratory infections and sustained proinflammatory state favoring lung tissue damage and remodeling, ultimately leading to respiratory failure. Loss of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) function is associated with MAPK hyperactivation and increased cytokines expression, such as interleukin-8 [chemoattractant chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 8 (CXCL8)]. Recently, new therapeutic strategies directly targeting the basic CFTR defect have been developed, and ORKAMBI (Vx-809/Vx-770 combination) is the only Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for CF patients homozygous for the F508del mutation. Here we aimed to determine the effect of the Vx-809/Vx-770 combination on the induction of the inflammatory response by fully differentiated primary bronchial epithelial cell cultures from CF patients carrying F508del mutations, following exposure to P. aeruginosa exoproducts. Our data unveiled that CFTR functional rescue with Vx-809/Vx-770 drastically reduces CXCL8 (as well as CXCL1 and CXCL2) transcripts and p38 MAPK phosphorylation in response to P. aeruginosa exposure through a CFTR-dependent mechanism. These results suggest that ORKAMBI has anti-inflammatory properties that could decrease lung inflammation and contribute to the observed beneficial impact of this treatment in CF patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-96
Author(s):  
Sunil Chaudhry

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) or Mucoviscidosis is an inherited condition. In cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein does not functions properly i.e regulation of fluids and salts outside the cells. Cystic fibrosis affects exocrine glands eg., the mucus-secreting and sweat glands in the respiratory and digestive systems. The frequency of common mutation F508del (deletion of phenylalanine residue at position 508) in children is between 19% and 34%. The estimate frequency of CF as 1:10,000 to 1:40,000 in children. There is no cure for cystic fibrosis, but treatment can reduce symptoms and complications to improve quality of life. Close monitoring and early, aggressive intervention is recommended to slow the progression of CF, which can lead to possible longer life.


Breathe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 210112
Author(s):  
Daniel H. Tewkesbury ◽  
Rebecca C. Robey ◽  
Peter J. Barry

The genetic multisystem condition cystic fibrosis (CF) has seen a paradigm shift in therapeutic approaches within the past decade. Since the first clinical descriptions in the 1930s, treatment advances had focused on the downstream consequences of a dysfunctional cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride ion channel. The discovery of the gene that codes for CFTR and an understanding of the way in which different genetic mutations lead to disruption of normal CFTR function have led to the creation and subsequent licensing of drugs that target this process. This marks an important move towards precision medicine in CF and results from clinical trials and real-world clinical practice have been impressive. In this review we outline how CFTR modulator drugs restore function to the CFTR protein and the progress that is being made in this field. We also describe the real-world impact of CFTR modulators on both pulmonary and multisystem complications of CF and what this will mean for the future of CF care.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 4486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Mancini ◽  
Nicoletta Loberto ◽  
Debora Olioso ◽  
Maria Cristina Dechecchi ◽  
Giulio Cabrini ◽  
...  

Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) protein is expressed at the apical plasma membrane (PM) of different epithelial cells. The most common mutation responsible for the onset of cystic fibrosis (CF), F508del, inhibits the biosynthesis and transport of the protein at PM, and also presents gating and stability defects of the membrane anion channel upon its rescue by the use of correctors and potentiators. This prompted a multiple drug strategy for F508delCFTR aimed simultaneously at its rescue, functional potentiation and PM stabilization. Since ganglioside GM1 is involved in the functional stabilization of transmembrane proteins, we investigated its role as an adjuvant to increase the effectiveness of CFTR modulators. According to our results, we found that GM1 resides in the same PM microenvironment as CFTR. In CF cells, the expression of the mutated channel is accompanied by a decrease in the PM GM1 content. Interestingly, by the exogenous administration of GM1, it becomes a component of the PM, reducing the destabilizing effect of the potentiator VX-770 on rescued CFTR protein expression/function and improving its stabilization. This evidence could represent a starting point for developing innovative therapeutic strategies based on the co-administration of GM1, correctors and potentiators, with the aim of improving F508del CFTR function.


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