title: Mucociliary and cough clearance as a biomarker for therapeutic development.
abstract: A workshop/symposium on “Mucociliary and Cough Clearance (MCC/CC) as a Biomarker for Therapeutic Development” was held on October 21–22, 2008, in Research Triangle Park, NC, to discuss the methods for measurement of MCC/CC and how they may be optimized for assessing new therapies designed to improve clearance of airway secretions from the lungs. The utility of MCC/CC as a biomarker for disease progression and therapeutic intervention is gaining increased recognition as a valuable tool in the clinical research community. A number of investigators currently active in using MCC/CC for diagnostic or therapeutic evaluation presented details of their methodologies. Attendees participating in the workshop discussions included those interested in the physiology of MCC/CC, some of who use in vitro or animal methods for its study, pharmaceutical companies developing muco-active therapies, and many who were interested in establishing the methods in their own clinical laboratory. This review article summarizes the presentations for the in vivo human MCC/CC methods and the discussions both at and subsequent to the workshop between the authors to move forward on a number of questions raised at the workshop.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma and Lung Biology, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7310, USA. William_Bennett@med.unc.edu
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Evangelia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Daviskas
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hasani
authors.forename: Jann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mortensen
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scheuch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D003371:Cough / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D009079:Mucociliary Clearance / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers