Preventing Fucose-Dependent Binding of Aspergillus and Pseudomonas to Lung Mucin
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Sponsor: NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Location(s): United States
Description
The investigators will collect samples of sputum from healthy volunteers and patients with cystic fibrosis for the purpose of: a) purifying airway mucins for plate-based binding studies and; b) assessment of the effects of carbohydrates on the rheologic properties of the sputum.
This study has two hypotheses:
- Lectins from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aspergillus fumigatus bind to airway mucins in a fucose-dependent manner, and this binding can be inhibited by fucosyl glycomimetic compounds.
- Fucosyl glycomimetics will compete with Pseudomonas aeruginosa lectin (PA-IIL) and Aspergillus fumigatus lectin (AFL) and disrupt lectin-driven mucin cross-linking in CF sputum.