ArticlePLoS pathogens2016
Evidence and Role for Bacterial Mucin Degradation in Cystic Fibrosis Airway Disease.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 142 papers.
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Who cites it
142 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- Oxygen-dependent partitioning of acetate assimilation via Acs and AckA-Pta pathways inJournal of bacteriology · 2026Article
- Differential Metabolite Production Underlies Disruption of the Cystic Fibrosis Airway Microbiota by Pathogens.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- The Role of the Respiratory Microbiome in Pneumonia.Clinics in chest medicine · 2026Review
- Experimental evolution in the cystic fibrosis chemical environment reveals early TCA cycle flux as a central regulator ofBiofilm · 2026Article
- An integrated computational-experimental approach identifies Malate Synthase G as therapeutic target to disrupt carbon metabolism in chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.Functional & integrative genomics · 2026Article
- Modulator therapy: rates and stages of respiratory bacteriome restoration in cystic fibrosis patients chronically infected with Pseudomonadota.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2026Article
- Anaerobic microbiota promote pathogen association with the airway epithelium.Journal of medical microbiology · 2026Article
- Functional CFTR may be required for Prevotella melaninogenica regulation of epithelial cell defense against Staphylococcus aureus.Journal of cystic fibrosis : official journal of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society · 2026Article
- Mucin stimulates the growth ofMicrobiology (Reading, England) · 2026Article
- Cross-feeding interactions betweenmSystems · 2026Article
- Characterizing Spatiotemporal Expansion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Communities in Polymer and Mucin Gel Environments.Biotechnology and bioengineering · 2026Article
- Article
- Spatial proximity dictates bacterial competition and expansion in microbial communities.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Activation of theInfection and immunity · 2025Article
- Distinct lung microbiota community states are associated with pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial disease prognosis.BMC microbiology · 2025Article
- Article
- Host- and microbial-mediated mucin degradation differentially shape Pseudomonas aeruginosa physiology and gene expression.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Hyperconcentrated mucus in small airways: a mechanistic model for the pathogenesis of paediatric bronchiectasis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2025Review
82 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are composed of complex microbial communities that incite persistent inflammation and airway damage. Despite the high density of bacteria that colonize the lower airways, nutrient sources that sustain bacterial growth in vivo, and how those nutrients are derived, are not well characterized. In this study, we examined the possibility that mucins serve as an important carbon reservoir for the CF lung microbiota. While Pseudomonas aeruginosa was unable to efficiently utilize mucins in isolation, we found that anaerobic, mucin-fermenting bacteria could stimulate the robust growth of CF pathogens when provided intact mucins as a sole carbon source. 16S rRNA sequencing and enrichment culturing of sputum also identified that mucin-degrading anaerobes are ubiquitous in the airways of CF patients. The collective fermentative metabolism of these mucin-degrading communities in vitro generated amino acids and short chain fatty acids (propionate and acetate) during growth on mucin, and the same metabolites were also found in abundance within expectorated sputum. The significance of these findings was supported by in vivo P. aeruginosa gene expression, which revealed a heightened expression of genes required for the catabolism of propionate. Given that propionate is exclusively derived from bacterial fermentation, these data provide evidence for an important role of mucin fermenting bacteria in the carbon flux of the lower airways. More specifically, microorganisms typically defined as commensals may contribute to airway disease by degrading mucins, in turn providing nutrients for pathogens otherwise unable to efficiently obtain carbon in the lung.
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