We have developed a new method to quantify the mucociliary transport force (MCTF). We validated the method by examining the effects of isoproterenol (Iso), norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (Epi), and acetylcholine (ACh) on MCTF. In the first series of experiments, the effects of leukotrienes (LTs) on MCTF were investigated. In accordance with previous studies, Iso, NE, and ACh induced increases...

BACKGROUND Mucociliary transport (MCT) is a defense mechanism of the airway. To study the underlying mechanisms of MCT, we have both developed an experimental model of cultures, from human adenoid tissue of ciliated and secretory cells, and characterized the response to local chemical signals that control ciliary activity and the secretion of respiratory mucins in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS...

BACKGROUND We evaluated a new in vitro model for mucociliary transport function. Spheroids of human respiratory epithelium show beating cilia at their surface. When cultured in their own mucus, spheroids can rotate along their axis due to coordinated ciliary beating. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS To assess whether this setup yields meaningful results we measured rotation frequency (RF) of human bronc...

The saccharin test was carried out in a randomly selected sample of schoolchildren (142 boys and 153 girls, age range 11-14 years) to determine the variability and reproducibility of the test and to assess whether it could be used as a screening test for nasal mucociliary clearance. Nasal mucociliary clearance times were analysed according to clinical history (asthma, rhinitis, asthma with rhin...

RATIONALE Intervention for cystic fibrosis lung disease early in its course has the potential to delay or prevent progressive changes that lead to irreversible airflow obstruction. Denufosol is a novel ion channel regulator designed to correct the ion transport defect and increase the overall mucociliary clearance in cystic fibrosis lung disease by increasing chloride secretion, inhibiting sodi...

OBJECTIVE The effect of azelastine on airway mucociliary transport function was studied by measuring ciliary motility of human bronchial epithelium in vitro with a photoelectric method. METHOD Bronchial epithelial cells were obtained by fibreoptic bronchoscopy, mounted in a Rose chamber, and perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution. The preparations were placed on a microscope stage equipped wi...

BACKGROUND Patients with chronic bronchitis show a large intersubject variation in sputum rheology, tracheobronchial clearance, and reversibility of airflow obstruction to beta 2 agonists. The bronchial mediators which are known to cause bronchoconstriction, mucosal oedema, mucus hypersecretion, and cough can also affect mucociliary transport. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether chan...