Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2015; 36(02): 287-298
DOI: 10.1055/s-0035-1546821
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Modulators: The End of the Beginning

Peter J. Barry
1   Manchester Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre, University Hospital of South Manchester, Wythenshawe, United Kingdom
,
Nicola Ronan
2   Cork Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre, University College Cork, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Cork, Ireland
3   HRB Clinical Research Facility, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
,
Barry J. Plant
2   Cork Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre, University College Cork, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Cork, Ireland
3   HRB Clinical Research Facility, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
› Author Affiliations
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Publication History

Publication Date:
31 March 2015 (online)

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Abstract

Cystic fibrosis (CF) represents one of the success stories of modern medicine with sustained incremental increases in the survival from one of childhood death to one of adult survival into the middle decades over the past 30 years. Improving survival has focused on multidisciplinary management centered on treating the consequences of this genetic disease. It has been firmly established for more than 20 years that mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene result in a defective protein that normally functions as a chloride channel on epithelial cell surfaces. Until recently, modulating CFTR dysfunction was only a research aspiration, however, greater focus placed upon addressing the primary defect of CF has developed several clinical therapeutic strategies in this area. This review highlights the evidence to date on efforts to modulate CFTR and restore robust functional protein to the cell surface. This approach has now led to the licensing of one CFTR potentiator, which has been shown to have significant clinical improvements in a subset of CF patients. This success represents the beginning for CFTR modulation and further research is ongoing which aims to broaden the applicability of these techniques.