Ivacaftor Reverses Airway Mucus Abnormalities in a Rat Model Harboring a Humanized G551D-CFTR

Animal models have been highly informative for understanding the characteristics, onset, and progression of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. In particular, the CFTR rat has revealed insights into the airway mucus defect characteristic of CF but does not replicate a human-relevant CFTR (cystic fibr...

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Published in:	American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine Vol. 202; no. 9; pp. 1271 - 1282
Main Authors:	Birket, Susan E, Davis, Joy M, Fernandez-Petty, Courtney M, Henderson, Alexander G, Oden, Ashley M, Tang, LiPing, Wen, Hui, Hong, Jeong, Fu, Lianwu, Chambers, Andre, Fields, Alvin, Zhao, Gojun, Tearney, Guillermo J, Sorscher, Eric J, Rowe, Steven M
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States American Thoracic Society 01-11-2020
Subjects:	Airway management Aminophenols - therapeutic use Animals Chloride Channel Agonists - therapeutic use Cystic fibrosis Cystic Fibrosis - drug therapy Cystic Fibrosis - genetics Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator - drug effects Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator - genetics Humans Lung diseases Models, Animal Mucus - drug effects Original Quinolones - therapeutic use Rats Rodents rat model G551D ivacaftor cystic fibrosis mucus
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Summary:	Animal models have been highly informative for understanding the characteristics, onset, and progression of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. In particular, the CFTR rat has revealed insights into the airway mucus defect characteristic of CF but does not replicate a human-relevant CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) variant. We hypothesized that a rat expressing a humanized version of CFTR and harboring the ivacaftor-sensitive variant G551D could be used to test the impact of CFTR modulators on pathophysiologic development and correction. In this study, we describe a humanized-CFTR rat expressing the G551D variant obtained by zinc finger nuclease editing of a human complementary DNA superexon, spanning exon 2-27, with a 5' insertion site into the rat gene just beyond intron 1. This targeted insertion takes advantage of the endogenous rat promoter, resulting in appropriate expression compared with wild-type animals. The bioelectric phenotype of the epithelia recapitulates the expected absence of CFTR activity, which was restored with ivacaftor. Large airway defects, including depleted airway surface liquid and periciliary layers, delayed mucus transport rates, and increased mucus viscosity, were normalized after the administration of ivacaftor. This model is useful to understand the mechanisms of disease and the extent of pathology reversal with CFTR modulators.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1073-449X 1535-4970
DOI:	10.1164/rccm.202002-0369oc