RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Effect of continuous positive airway pressure treatment on permeability, inflammation and mucus production of human epithelial cells JF ERJ Open Research JO erjor FD European Respiratory Society SP 00327-2019 DO 10.1183/23120541.00327-2019 VO 6 IS 2 A1 Sandra Grau-Bartual A1 Ahmed M. Al-Jumaily A1 Paul M. Young A1 Daniela Traini A1 Maliheh Ghadiri YR 2020 UL http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/6/2/00327-2019.abstract AB Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is the gold standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea, which affects millions of people worldwide. However, this therapy normally results in symptoms such as dryness, sneezing, rhinorrhoea, post-nasal drip, nasal congestion and epistaxis in the upper airways.Using bronchial epithelial (Calu-3) and nasal epithelial (RPMI 2650) cells in an in vitro respiratory model, this study, for the first time, investigates the effect of CPAP positive pressure on the human respiratory epithelial mechanisms that regulate upper airways lubrication characteristics. To understand how the epithelium and mucus are affected by this therapy, several parameters were determined before and after positive pressure application.This work demonstrates that the positive pressure not only compresses the cells, but also reduces their permeability and mucus secretion rate, thus drying the airway surface liquid layer and altering the mucus/water ratio. It is also observed that the respiratory epithelia is equally inflamed without or with external humidification during CPAP application.These findings clearly identify the causes of the side-effects reported by patients under CPAP therapy.This work demonstrates that CPAP compresses human respiratory epithelial cells, reduces their permeability and mucus secretion rate, dries the airway surface liquid layer, and produces an inflammatory response https://bit.ly/2J4YjOT