Steve Bryson, PhD,  science writer—

HIT-CF, a European Union-funded research project, is working to provide personalized disease-modifying treatments to cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with rare CFTR mutations who lack effective treatment options. “We hope that within five years, these patients will have new drugs,” Kors van der Ent, MD, PhD, professor in pediatric…

The bacterial composition within the airways of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) differs from those with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a disorder also characterized by mucus buildup and lung infections, a study reported. Its researchers, who followed children with either disease for about one year, found airway bacterial diversity…

Monocyte immune cells from bone marrow partially transplanted into a mouse model of cystic fibrosis (CF) improved survival and reduced inflammation, a study found. Meanwhile, transplanting monocytes from CF mice into healthy mice triggered CF-like symptoms and limited survival, suggesting that these defective immune cells may cause symptoms, the…

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has awarded funding to Feldan Therapeutics to develop the Feldan Shuttle, a technology designed to deliver medicines directly inside the epithelial cells that line the airways in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Awarded as part of the foundation’s $500 million Path to…

Airway cells in cystic fibrosis (CF) were more susceptible to death due to the buildup of iron and their reduced antioxidant ability, a study suggested. These findings support further research into the use of iron-binding chelators and antioxidants as potential CF therapies, the scientists said. The study, “…

People with cystic fibrosis (CF) in the U.K. are encouraged to join the new CF BioResource project — giving them a unique opportunity to help connect genetic data to existing clinical data registries and advance understanding of CF. The ultimate goal of this project, conducted within the…

Researchers generated functional bile duct cells from human-derived stem cells that can be used to support the development of therapies for liver disease in people with cystic fibrosis (CF), a study reported. “These studies highlight the importance of generating mature cells from stem cells that faithfully mimic the functional…

The microbiome diversity in the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients increased after treatment with Trikafta, becoming similar to a person without CF, an analysis showed. In addition, small molecule metabolites produced by cells varied widely across patients while on the therapy, with the largest decrease seen in…

For the first time, many features of cystic fibrosis (CF) were modeled accurately in a human Lung Airway Chip lined with cells from CF patients, which included enhanced mucus secretion, inflammation, and microbial infections, a study has shown. This “organ-on-a-chip model” of the disease may support the rapid development…

Scientists using phage therapy — specifically a bacteriophage they dubbed “Muddy” — successfully treated an infection by an antibiotic-resistant strain of Mycobacterium abscessus bacteria in a zebrafish model of cystic fibrosis (CF). For five days, the team treated the zebrafish, which were infected with M. abscessus, a lung-damaging bacteria…