Mucolytic Influence on Mucus Mechanical Properties

Deficient mucus clearance by the cilia in our lungs is a common trait of diseases like asthma and cystic fibrosis. Mucus build-up is often treated with mucolytic drugs that cleave mucin disulfide bonds and lower mucus viscosity. Despite this, mucolytics have limited effects. Simultaneously, our results show that physiologically relevant shear, like that generated by ciliary motion, can make mucus anisotropic, potentially affecting the hydrodynamic coupling of cilia. We hypothesize that mucolytics may interfere with mucus anisotropy and cilia coupling. Here, we use bulk rheology and particle-tracking microrheology to investigate how mucolytics modify the shear-induced mechanical anisotropy in cow lung mucus under controlled shear conditions.