Hot Topic: [How Can We Target Pulmonary Inflammation in Cystic Fibrosis? (Guest Editor: Catherine M. Greene)]

Abstract

With each year our enhanced understanding of the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis (CF) is challenged by new discoveries related to the increasingly complex nature of this disorder. Originally described as a genetic disorder principally due to defective chloride ion conductance at epithelial surfaces and a predisposition to bacterial colonization have been moved into the category of an inflammatory disorder because of increasing research efforts. As our knowledge of the molecular and cellular events associated with CF has burgeoned, we now have a greater appreciation of its protean inflammatory manifestations. This Mini-Hot Topic on “Mechanisms of Pulmonary Inflammation in Cystic Fibrosis” presents a series of comprehensive review articles in which the authors describe novel mechanisms regulating inflammation in the CF lung and propose and dissect the potential benefits and side-effects of diverse treatments aimed at ameliorating the inflammatory consequences of CF lung disease.