2. Academic Validation
  3. Muc5b is required for airway defence

Muc5b is required for airway defence

  • Nature. 2014 Jan 16;505(7483):412-6. doi: 10.1038/nature12807.
Michelle G Roy 1,  Alessandra Livraghi-Butrico 2,  Ashley A Fletcher 3,  Melissa M McElwee 4,  Scott E Evans 4,  Ryan M Boerner 5,  Samantha N Alexander 4,  Lindsey K Bellinghausen 4,  Alfred S Song 4,  Youlia M Petrova 4,  Michael J Tuvim 4,  Roberto Adachi 4,  Irlanda Romo 6,  Andrea S Bordt 7,  M Gabriela Bowden 8,  Joseph H Sisson 9,  Prescott G Woodruff 10,  David J Thornton 11,  Karine Rousseau 11,  Maria M De la Garza 4,  Seyed J Moghaddam 4,  Harry Karmouty-Quintana 5,  Michael R Blackburn 5,  Scott M Drouin 5,  C William Davis 12,  Kristy A Terrell 12,  Barbara R Grubb 12,  Wanda K O'Neal 12,  Sonia C Flores 13,  Adela Cota-Gomez 13,  Catherine A Lozupone 13,  Jody M Donnelly 13,  Alan M Watson 13,  Corinne E Hennessy 13,  Rebecca C Keith 13,  Ivana V Yang 13,  Lea Barthel 14,  Peter M Henson 14,  William J Janssen 14,  David A Schwartz 13,  Richard C Boucher 12,  Burton F Dickey 4,  Christopher M Evans 15
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 1] University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77030, USA [2].
  • 2 1] University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 7011 Thurston-Bowles Building, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA [2].
  • 3 1] University of Colorado School of Medicine, 12700 East 19th Avenue, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA [2].
  • 4 University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
  • 5 University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston Medical School, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
  • 6 1] University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77030, USA [2] Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Avenida Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur Colonia Tecnológico, Monterrey, Nuevo León 64849, Mexico.
  • 7 Texas A&M Health Science Center, 2121 W. Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
  • 8 1] Texas A&M Health Science Center, 2121 W. Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77030, USA [2] University of Houston-Downtown, 1 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002, USA.
  • 9 University of Nebraska Medical Center, 985910 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, USA.
  • 10 University of California San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, California 27599, USA.
  • 11 University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.
  • 12 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 7011 Thurston-Bowles Building, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.
  • 13 University of Colorado School of Medicine, 12700 East 19th Avenue, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA.
  • 14 1] University of Colorado School of Medicine, 12700 East 19th Avenue, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA [2] National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado 80206, USA.
  • 15 1] University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77030, USA [2] University of Colorado School of Medicine, 12700 East 19th Avenue, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA.
PMID: 24317696 DOI: 10.1038/nature12807
Abstract

Respiratory surfaces are exposed to billions of particulates and pathogens daily. A protective mucus barrier traps and eliminates them through mucociliary clearance (MCC). However, excessive mucus contributes to transient respiratory infections and to the pathogenesis of numerous respiratory diseases. MUC5AC and MUC5B are evolutionarily conserved genes that encode structurally related Mucin glycoproteins, the principal macromolecules in airway mucus. Genetic variants are linked to diverse lung diseases, but specific roles for MUC5AC and MUC5B in MCC, and the lasting effects of their inhibition, are unknown. Here we show that mouse Muc5b (but not MUC5AC) is required for MCC, for controlling infections in the airways and middle ear, and for maintaining immune homeostasis in mouse lungs, whereas MUC5AC is dispensable. Muc5b deficiency caused Materials to accumulate in upper and lower airways. This defect led to chronic Infection by multiple Bacterial species, including Staphylococcus aureus, and to inflammation that failed to resolve normally. Apoptotic macrophages accumulated, phagocytosis was impaired, and interleukin-23 (IL-23) production was reduced in Muc5b(-/-) mice. By contrast, in mice that transgenically overexpress Muc5b, macrophage functions improved. Existing dogma defines mucous phenotypes in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as driven by increased MUC5AC, with MUC5B levels either unaffected or increased in expectorated sputum. However, in many patients, MUC5B production at airway surfaces decreases by as much as 90%. By distinguishing a specific role for Muc5b in MCC, and by determining its impact on Bacterial infections and inflammation in mice, our results provide a refined framework for designing targeted therapies to control Mucin secretion and restore MCC.

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