Moving Mucus Matters for Lung Health

Abstract

When we breathe, the lungs exchange oxygen from the air for carbon dioxide waste from the blood. This exchange is vital for life. Each breath exposes the lungs to the outside environment, which contains pollution and germs, posing a threat to our health. The first line of defense is called the mucociliary escalator: mucus traps the potentially dangerous material and cilia push that material up and out of our airways. When the mucociliary escalator is not working properly, we may develop lung disease. For example, patients with genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis (CF) and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), or smoking-related diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have extremely thick mucus. This mucus builds up, allowing bacteria, fungi, and viruses to thrive, causing lung damage and decreased oxygenation. Lung diseases make breathing extremely difficult, and patients can have life-threatening respiratory illness when the mucociliary escalator cannot maintain lung health.