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Nature Medicine 13, 1417 - 1418 (2007)
doi:10.1038/nm1207-1417

Incapacitating the immune system in cystic fibrosis

Ian Sabroe1 & Moira K B Whyte1

  1. Ian Sabroe and Moira K.B. Whyte are in the Academic Unit of Respiratory Medicine, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2JF, UK. e-mail: i.sabroe@sheffield.ac.uk


Phagocytes swarm to the lung in individuals with cystic fibrosis but are unable to clear infection. A close examination of neutrophil biology reveals that Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the lung disables these phagocytes, which then turn on each other (pages 1423–1430).


In cystic fibrosis, the immune system bombards bacteria invading the airways, but the effort does not clear the pathogen. Now, Hartl et al.1 show how the inflammatory response is disarmed in a series of events that favor persistent infection.

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Incapacitating the immune system in cystic fibrosis

Nature Medicine News and Views (01 Dec 2007)