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CFTR structure: lassoing cystic fibrosis

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Loss of function of the CFTR anion channel leads to cystic fibrosis, the most common inherited condition in humans of European origin. A recently reported structure for CFTR at 3.7-Å resolution reveals an unexpected 'lasso' domain and provides new insights into channel function in healthy individuals and in people with cystic fibrosis.

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Figure 1: Zebrafish CFTR structure determined by Zhang and Chen3 using cryo-electron microscopy.

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Correspondence to Bob Ford.

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Competing interests

B.F. consulted in 2015 and 2016 for Vertex, Inc., which discovered and currently markets ivacaftor.

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Ford, B. CFTR structure: lassoing cystic fibrosis. Nat Struct Mol Biol 24, 13–14 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.3353

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