Disrupting mucin-mucin interactions to treat respiratory diseases

哮喘、肺气肿和囊性纤维化等疾病的特点都是肺部粘液分泌过多，使患者呼吸困难，增加了感染的易感性。很少有治疗方法可以稀释这种黏液，这种黏液是由蛋白质之间的连接网络造成的。我们正在研究这些联系，并研究打破它们的方法。这项研究可能会产生新的黏液稀释药物来治疗肺部疾病。

Diseases like asthma, emphysema and cystic fibrosis all feature the overproduction of mucus in the lungs that make it very difficult for patients to breathe and increases their susceptibility to infections. Few therapies are available for thinning this mucus, which is made thick by a network of linkages between proteins. We are studying these linkages and developing methods to break them up. This research could yield new mucus-thinning drugs to treat lung diseases.