Pseudomonas or LPS exposure alters CFTR iodide efflux in 2WT2 epithelial cells with time and dose dependence.

The most common heritable genetic disease in the United States, cystic fibrosis (CF), is caused by mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), a chloride channel that interacts with and regulates a number of other proteins. The bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa infects 80% of patients causing decreased pulmonary function and life expectancy. It is not known how malfunction of the chloride channel allows for preferential colonization of patients by a single pathogen.