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Updated: May 19, 2026

In vivo Evaluation of Mucociliary Clearance in Mice
Published on: December 18, 2020
A periciliary brush promotes the lung health by separating the mucus layer from airway epithelia
Brian Button1, Li-Heng Cai, Camille Ehre
1Cystic Fibrosis Research and Treatment Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7248, USA.
Abstract:
Mucus clearance is the primary defense mechanism that protects airways from inhaled infectious and toxic agents. In the current gel-on-liquid mucus clearance model, a mucus gel is propelled on top of a "watery" periciliary layer surrounding the cilia. However, this model fails to explain the formation of a distinct mucus layer in health or why mucus clearance fails in disease. We propose a gel-on-brush model in which the periciliary layer is occupied by membrane-spanning mucins and mucopolysaccharides densely tethered to the airway surface. This brush prevents mucus penetration into the periciliary space and causes mucus to form a distinct layer. The relative osmotic moduli of the mucus and periciliary brush layers explain both the stability of mucus clearance in health and its failure in airway disease.
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