Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2025
In vivo Evaluation of Mucociliary Clearance in Mice
Published on: December 18, 2020
Tacrolimus impairs airway mucociliary clearance of rats
Maristela Prado E Silva1, Sônia de Fátima Soto1, Francine Maria de Almeida2
1Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Cirurgia Toracica, Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Instituto do Coracao (InCor), Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Objectives:
Tacrolimus (TAC) is the most widely used immunosuppressive agent after lung transplantation. Considering that the ciliary beat frequency (CBF) mainly depends on the cytoplasmic calcium concentration and that TAC can affect this due to its binding with the intracellular immunophilin FKBP12, we hypothesized that TAC could also impair the airway mucociliary clearance of rats.
Methods:
Sixty rats were divided into two groups (n = 30 each): Control = water; TAC = tacrolimus. After 7, 15 or 30 days of treatment, ten animals from each group were euthanized and the following parameters were studied: mucus transportability, CBF, mucociliary transport velocity (MCTV), and neutral and acid mucus production.
Results:
There was a significant decrease in CBF (Control vs TAC: 7 days, p = 0.008; 15 days, p = 0.007; 30 days, p = 0.001) and MCTV (Control vs TAC: 7 days, p = 0.004; 15 days, p < 0.001; 30 days, p < 0.001) in all immunosuppressed animals. TAC therapy also caused an increase in acid mucus production at all treatment times (Control vs TAC: 7 days, p = 0.001; 15 days, p = 0.043; 30 days, p = 0.001).
Conclusions:
TAC impairs airway mucociliary clearance of rats.
