Clearing the Airways

February 6, 2022

In a partnership between Michigan State University and Spectrum Health called the Cystic Fibrosis Translational Research program,?a team of?researchers?is?studying the effectiveness of a promising?FDA approved?treatment?called?Trikafta?that is?a combination of?the drugs?Elexacaftor,?Tezacaftor?and Ivacaftor. What makes?Trikafta?unique is that it?has the potential to?eliminate?the mucus that?causes breathing difficulty?in?cystic fibrosis?patients.

 “It’s amazing,” said?Robert Quinn, an assistant professor in the?Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology?in the?College of Natural Science. “Patients were reporting a decrease in symptoms within weeks.”

Usually, patients with cystic fibrosis have a unique microbiome dominated by a pathogenic bacterium that is known to cause damage to their lungs. Trikafta changes their microbiome by making it more diverse with many different bacteria so it looks more like that of a healthy person without the disease. Furthermore, the number of amino acids in the mucus is shown to decrease, which is believed to be the primary food source for some pathogens in the lungs. If the pathogens’ food source goes away, they may no longer be able to survive in the airways. ?

Use of Trikafta could mean an increase in the life expectancy of cystic fibrosis patients, and for young children who begin the treatment early, “They might never have to experience the symptoms of cystic fibrosis in the same way prior to Trikafta,” Quinn said.

Learn more: go.msu.edu/trikafta