WAERP
Team
Airway Epithelial Research projects
Reports and Findings
Macrophage PD-1 associates with neutrophilia and reduced bacterial killing in early cystic fibrosis airway disease
Macrophages are the major resident immune cells in human airways coordinating responses to infection and injury. In cystic fibrosis, neutrophils are recruited to the airways shortly after birth, and actively exocytose damaging enzymes prior to chronic infection, suggesting a potential defect in macrophage immunomodulatory function.
Cystic Fibrosis Published research Airway Epithelial Research P4 Respiratory Health for Kids Subsite: WalyanAI-Driven Cell Tracking to Enable High-Throughput Drug Screening Targeting Airway Epithelial Repair for Children with Asthma
The airway epithelium of children with asthma is characterized by aberrant repair that may be therapeutically modifiable. The development of epithelial-targeting therapeutics that enhance airway repair could provide a novel treatment avenue for childhood asthma.
Published research Airway Epithelial Research P4 Respiratory Health for Kids Subsite: WalyanSLC6A14 Impacts Cystic Fibrosis Lung Disease Severity via mTOR and Epithelial Repair Modulation
Cystic fibrosis (CF), due to pathogenic variants in CFTR gene, is associated with chronic infection/inflammation responsible for airway epithelium alteration and lung function decline. Modifier genes induce phenotype variability between people with CF (pwCF) carrying the same CFTR variants. Among these, the gene encoding for the amino acid transporter SLC6A14 has been associated with lung disease severity and age of primary airway infection by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Cystic Fibrosis Published research Airway Epithelial ResearchInvestigating the Implications of CFTR Exon Skipping Using a Cftr Exon 9 Deleted Mouse Model
Severity and disease progression in people with Cystic Fibrosis is typically dependent on their genotype. One potential therapeutic strategy for people with specific mutations is exon skipping with antisense oligonucleotides. CFTR exon 9 is an in-frame exon and hence the exclusion of this exon would excise only 31 amino acids but not alter the reading frame of the remaining mRNA.
Cystic Fibrosis Published research Airway Epithelial Research Subsite: Walyan