Mild CFTR mutations mainly affect Cl− transport (left), but severe forms also perturb bicarbonate conductance (right).

Reddy/Macmillan

Glutamate has a critical physiological function unrelated to its job as a neurotransmitter, according to results from M. M. Reddy and Paul Quinton (University of California, San Diego, CA). The duo find that glutamate activates an epithelial ion channel that is mutated in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis is caused by mutations in the CFTR anion channel, which is found in various epithelial tissues, including the lungs. A long-standing assumption that CFTR is activated by phosphorylation and ATP has recently been challenged by observations that the channel is open regardless of kinase activity in sweat glands.

Epithelial cells, including sweat glands, seem to express glutamate receptors, although their function is not known. Reddy studied the effect of glutamate on epithelial transport and found that it activated...

The Rockefeller University Press
2003
The Rockefeller University Press
2003
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