Margarida Maia, PhD,  science writer—

Airway epithelial cells carrying mutations that cause cystic fibrosis (CF) become more loosely connected when grown in the lab in the presence of insulin and high amounts of sugar, a study found, suggesting that CF-related diabetes may weaken the barrier that normally protects the airway tract. Researchers working at…

Bacterial ecotin has the potential to reduce lung damage in cystic fibrosis (CF) by inhibiting the activity of an enzyme called neutrophil elastase without affecting the immune system’s ability to fight off infections, researchers found. Because the findings come from a small number of patient samples, “future work will…

Cells from the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis (CF) are less susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19-causing virus, than those of people with other lung diseases, but they respond similarly to the influenza A virus, a study found. Restoring function to CFTR, the protein that’s faulty or…

Mucus-producing cells in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) have lower levels of ST3Gal1, an enzyme that sugarcoats mucus to make it less thick and sticky, but treatment with Trikafta can partly restore the enzyme and make mucus easier to clear away. The findings, from a study led by…

Gene therapy was found to work as well as a combination of the three CFTR modulators in Trikafta to restore the function to the CFTR protein, which is faulty in cystic fibrosis (CF), with the potential to work for all patients, regardless of their disease-causing mutation. That’s according…

While physical health and life quality gains can be evident in people using CFTR modulators, a group of disease-modifying therapies for cystic fibrosis (CF), their mental well-being needs more attention, according to the Wellness in the Modulator Era (Well-ME) study. Nearly 1 in every 4 patients reported poorer…

The first healthy volunteers have been dosed in Australia as part of two separate Phase 1 clinical trials of SION-719 and SION-451 — two second-generation NBD1 stabilizers that Sionna Therapeutics is developing to restore function to the CFTR protein, which is faulty in cystic fibrosis (CF). The goal…

Mice mimicking cystic fibrosis (CF) have trouble forming and taking up fat droplets, which limits normal growth and optimal nutrition, a study found, suggesting that a high-fat diet may not be helping patients as much as thought and needs to be reconsidered. According to the researchers, a key finding…

Sionna Therapeutics has gained the rights to develop and market three of AbbVie’s clinical-stage compounds, a move that expands the company’s pipeline of small molecules that are designed to restore the function of the CFTR protein, which is faulty or absent in cystic fibrosis (CF). The compounds…

Despite treatment with Kalydeco (ivacaftor), females with cystic fibrosis (CF) continue to experience more lung exacerbations — periods when CF respiratory symptoms suddenly worsen — than do males, for reasons that are not well understood, a large patient registry study reported. “Our findings demonstrate that sex disparities…