Mapping Chemical and Microbiological Heterogeneity Throughout Explanted Cystic Fibrosis Lung Specimens

Completed

Conditions studied: Cystic Fibrosis

In brief

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the lung is not uniform. The internal surface area is 30 times that of skin, and the different bronchioles/bronchi/alveoli differ greatly in blood perfusion, temperature, oxygen tension, and pH. Also, particularly in the context of respiratory disease, notable differences are present in the structure of epithelial cells, cilia, production of mucus, and inflammatory/immune responses. All of these factors are known to impact the physiology of bacteria, yet, there is very little understanding of how they impact a) the presence/absence of particular bacterial species throughout the respiratory tract, or b) the metabolic processes used by these bacteria within the human host environment. A greater understanding of the relationships between environmental (chemical) gradients in the lungs of diseased patients (particularly those with cystic fibrosis) and the microbial communities that are present may lead to novel hypotheses about manipulation of the respiratory environment for therapeutic benefit. To investigate this further, the investigators propose to use explanted lung specimens from cystic fibrosis patients to test the following hypothesis: Hypothesis: In patients with cystic fibrosis, bacterial community composition, metabolism and environmental chemistry will vary depending on their spatial location within the airways.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT02128711

Run by

University of Minnesota

People needed

74

Starts

2014-07-01

Expected to finish

2025-07-31

Last updated by the study team

2025-10-14

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• diagnosis of cystic fibrosis
• eligible for lung transplantation
• exhausted other available therapies without success
• informed consent

You may not qualify if…

• there are no exclusion criteria

Where it is running

• University of Minnesota Medical School — Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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