AJP - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Vol 261, Issue 2 218-L221, Copyright © 1991 by American Physiological Society
Method for rapid evaluation of topically applied agents to cystic fibrosis airways
J. J. Wine, V. V. King and N. J. Lewiston
Cystic Fibrosis Research Laboratory, Stanford University, California.
The proposal is to target a single maxillary sinus for treatment with
agents designed to reverse or ameliorate the cystic fibrosis (CF) defect in
airway mucosa, with the opposite sinus serving as a control. Selected CF
patients have undergone maxillary antrostomy and antibiotic lavage to help
relieve severe pulmonary disease and chronically impacted and infected
sinuses. After treatment, the mucosa in the maxillary sinuses of these
patients are accessible and can be bathed with fluids introduced via the
stomas with procedures that restrict the fluid to a single sinus. The
ability of an agent to reverse mucosal pathology can therefore be
determined easily with the mucosa of the contralateral sinus serving as a
control. Electrophysiological properties, amounts and composition of fluid
and mucus, immune functions, and bacterial colonization can be measured
accurately and repeatedly. The consistent observation that sinus
involvement in CF is near universal and bilaterally symmetric offers a
unique opportunity for a simultaneous within-subject, double-blinded
control paradigm. This approach should speed evaluation of any agent
designed to improve airway mucosal function.
