<b>New way to treat cystic fibrosis </b>
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IOWA CITY, Iowa, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- People with cystic fibrosis block a natural antibiotic from reaching airway surfaces, and adding it may keep CF patients healthier.
The discovery was made at the University of Iowa by a team led by Botond Banfi and Patryk Moskwa.
The researchers found that normal lung airway cells produce an antibiotic compound called hypothiocyanite, which becomes part of airway surface fluids. The airway cells of people with CF do not allow thiocyanate, one of the constituents of hypothiocyanite, to cross their cell membranes, so the antibiotic is not produced and CF patients have fewer defenses against bacterial infections in the their lungs.
The team said that hypothiocyanite, which is not toxic to human cells or tissues, is very efficient at killing Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the two bacteria most commonly associated with fatal lung infections in people with CF.
"If we could reconstitute thiocyanate concentrations in the airway surface liquid, perhaps using a nebulizer, it might boost host defenses in CF patients and help prevent bacterial lung infections," Banfi said.
The research is published in the Nov. 2 online issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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IOWA CITY, Iowa, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- People with cystic fibrosis block a natural antibiotic from reaching airway surfaces, and adding it may keep CF patients healthier.
The discovery was made at the University of Iowa by a team led by Botond Banfi and Patryk Moskwa.
The researchers found that normal lung airway cells produce an antibiotic compound called hypothiocyanite, which becomes part of airway surface fluids. The airway cells of people with CF do not allow thiocyanate, one of the constituents of hypothiocyanite, to cross their cell membranes, so the antibiotic is not produced and CF patients have fewer defenses against bacterial infections in the their lungs.
The team said that hypothiocyanite, which is not toxic to human cells or tissues, is very efficient at killing Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the two bacteria most commonly associated with fatal lung infections in people with CF.
"If we could reconstitute thiocyanate concentrations in the airway surface liquid, perhaps using a nebulizer, it might boost host defenses in CF patients and help prevent bacterial lung infections," Banfi said.
The research is published in the Nov. 2 online issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.