EVALUATING THE ROLE OF GOBLET CELL ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN PASSAGES (GAPS) IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUCOSAL IMMUNE TOLERANCE IN THE CFTR KO INTESTINE

Greater than 70,000 individuals worldwide are living with the monogenetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF). The development of chronic intestinal inflammation, with clinical signs resembling inflammatory bowel disease-like conditions, is a common yet poorly understood occurrence in CF patients. This inflammation is typically neutrophilic in human and animal models with a heightened basal pro-inflammatory cytokine release. Prior research utilizing intestinal organoids (enteroids) cultured from Cftr knockout mice has shown that goblet cells in the CF mouse intestine demonstrate defective clearance of mucin granules and abnormal mucus retention.