Approximately 70 percent of the mutations in cystic fibrosis patients correspond to a specific deletion of three base pairs, which results in the loss of a phenylalanine residue at amino acid position 508 of the putative product of the cystic fibrosis gene. Extended haplotype data based on DNA markers closely linked to the putative disease gene locus suggest that the remainder of the cystic fibrosis mutant gene pool consists of multiple, different mutations. A small set of these latter mutant alleles (about 8 percent) may confer residual pancreatic exocrine function in a subgroup of patients who are pancreatic sufficient. The ability to detect mutations in the cystic fibrosis gene at the DNA level has important implications for genetic diagnosis.

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Identification of the cystic fibrosis gene: genetic analysis.

While originally characterized as a collection of related syndromes, cystic fibrosis (CF) is now recognized as a single disease whose diverse symptoms stem from the wide tissue distribution of the gene product that is defective in CF, the ion channel and regulator, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Defective CFTR protein impacts the function of the pancreas and alters the consistency of mucosal secretions. The latter of these effects probably plays an important role in the defective resistance of CF patients to many pathogens. As the modalities of CF research have changed over the decades from empirical histological studies to include biophysical measurements of CFTR function, the clinical management of this disease has similarly evolved to effectively address the ever-changing spectrum of CF-related infectious diseases. These factors have led to the successful management of many CF-related infections with the notable exception of chronic lung infection with the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The virulence of P. aeruginosa stems from multiple bacterial attributes, including antibiotic resistance, the ability to utilize quorum-sensing signals to form biofilms, the destructive potential of a multitude of its microbial toxins, and the ability to acquire a mucoid phenotype, which renders this microbe resistant to both the innate and acquired immunologic defenses of the host.

Lung Infections Associated with Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a common genetic disorder in the Caucasian population. The gene was identified in 1989 on the basis of its map location on chromosome 7. The encoded gene product, named cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), corresponds to a cAMP-regulated chloride channel found almost exclusively in the secretory epithelial cells. Although the major mutation that results in a single amino acid deletion (F508) accounts for 70% of the disease alleles, more than 550 additional mutant alleles of different forms have been detected. Many of these mutations can be divided into five general classes in terms of their demonstrated or presumed molecular consequences. In addition, a good correlation has been found between CFTR genotype and one of the clinical variables--pancreatic function status. An unexpected finding, however, is the documentation of CFTR mutations in patients with atypical CF disease presentations, including congenital absence of vas deferens and several pulmonary diseases. Thus, the implication of CFTR mutation is more profound than CF alone.

Cystic fibrosis: genotypic and phenotypic variations

The effect of the number of cystic fibrosis (CF) alleles on cholera toxin (CT)-induced intestinal secretion was examined in the CF mouse model. CF mice that expressed no CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein did not secrete fluid in response to CT. Heterozygotes expressed 50 percent of the normal amount of CFTR protein in the intestinal epithelium and secreted 50 percent of the normal fluid and chloride ion in intestinal epithelium and secreted 50 percent of the normal fluid and chloride ion and fluid secretion suggests that CF heterozygotes might possess a selective advantage of resistance to cholera.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/266/5182/107.full.pdf

N E Morton

Papers

Genetic studies on cystic fibrosis in Hawaii.