Donnelley, M.Morgan, K.Siu, K.Farrow, N.Stahr, C.Boucher, R.Fouras, A.Parsons, D.2014-01-302014-01-302014Scientific Reports, 2014; 4(3689):1-72045-23222045-2322http://hdl.handle.net/2440/81839To determine the efficacy of potential cystic fibrosis (CF) therapies we have developed a novel mucociliary transit (MCT) measurement that uses synchrotron phase contrast X-ray imaging (PCXI) to non-invasively measure the transit rate of individual micron-sized particles deposited into the airways of live mice. The aim of this study was to image changes in MCT produced by a rehydrating treatment based on hypertonic saline (HS), a current CF clinical treatment. Live mice received HS containing a long acting epithelial sodium channel blocker (P308); isotonic saline; or no treatment, using a nebuliser integrated within a small-animal ventilator circuit. Marker particle motion was tracked for 20 minutes using PCXI. There were statistically significant increases in MCT in the isotonic and HS-P308 groups. The ability to quantify in vivo changes in MCT may have utility in pre-clinical research studies designed to bring new genetic and pharmaceutical treatments for respiratory diseases into clinical trials.enThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ © The AuthorsBiomedical engineeringPre-clinical studiesAnatomyJournal article00300001992014013016520810.1038/srep036890003298463000022-s2.0-8490357792364205Donnelley, M. [0000-0002-5320-7756]Farrow, N. [0000-0002-2289-1268]Parsons, D. [0000-0002-8775-3501] [0000-0003-1746-3290]