Cystic fibrosis research gets a boost from hunters hoping for a cure

The mission to better treat cystic fibrosis gets new brain power as four Michigan State University researchers start new projects, thanks to funding from Grand Rapids-based Hunt for a Cure.

75ea3205-5019-46fe-b5ee-30825fa4d608.jpgChris Waters is one of four Michigan State University researchers to study cystic fibrosis with funding from Grand Rapids-based Hunt for a Cure.

Discovering new treatments and battling dangerous infections are the focus of the research, which expands the relationship between Hunt for a Cure and MSU.

Funding from Hunt for a Cure already has established a mouse colony at MSU that has been key in providing data on preventing cystic fibrosis infection in the lungs, said Gregory Fink of MSU's Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that causes the body to produce abnormally thick, sticky mucus, leading to life-threatening lung infections. Although a rarer disease, it is ranked as one of the most widespread life-shortening genetic diseases. One in 4,000 U.S. children are born with the disease.

Hunt for a Cure was founded in 2001 by Pete Odland of Belding, in honor of his then 4-year-old son, Dylan, who has cystic fibrosis. A big-time game hunter who has taken down exotic kudu, eland and wildebeest with a bow, Odland owns White's Bridge Tooling in Lowell. The organization's Camouflage Ball event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help fund cystic fibrosis research.

Since 2008, Hunt for a Cure has donated more than $215,000 to MSU. This latest $110,000 grant funds four research projects:

• A group of molecules important in controlling blood pressure may also be involved in how cystic fibrosis damages the lungs. Bruce Uhal in the physiology department is testing the theory, using well-studied drugs currently used for blood pressure control in the treatment of cystic fibrosis. The studies are being done using the established mouse colony.

• People with cystic fibrosis often experience serious lung infections, one of the worst being caused by the pathogen Burkholderia cenocepacia. Martha Mulks in the department of microbiology and molecular genetics leads a group working to identify genes of the pathogen contributing to its ability to cause infection.

• Increased infection due to bacterial growth is one of the main complications associated with cystic fibrosis. While bacterial growth is often thought to be a result of the mucous buildup in the airways of patients, this project will examine another possible contributing factor. The cells in our body responsible for clearing bacteria need glucose as an energy source to perform this important task. However, some cells in the bodies of people with cystic fibrosis do not take in glucose as readily as most people.

Dana Spence’s group in the chemistry department hopes to provide evidence that therapies geared towards improving glucose uptake into the cells of people with the disease will help reduce bacterial infections.

• The bacteria infecting the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients mostly exist encased in a protective layer of sugar, DNA and proteins known as biofilms. The biofilms help bacteria resist the body's immune system and enable them to survive antibiotics. Chris Waters in the department of microbiology and molecular genetics will examine the potential of new anti-biofilm molecules to treat the bacterial infections.

The funding from Hunt for a Cure “has allowed us to expand our research capabilities in this field,” Fink said, “and allows possible new therapies to be tested much more rapidly and safely than before.”

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