Mucociliary Clearance
With the thousands of liters of air inhaled every day, which are essential for life, unfortunately many dirt and dust particles also reach the respiratory tract. The mucociliary clearance apparatus is responsible for removing these substances from the respiratory tract. Billions of tiny motile cilia (length: 6-10µm, diameter 0.25µm) on the surface epithelium of the airways (so-called ciliated epithelium) cause mucus to be transported out of the respiratory tract by rapid, rhythmic beating.
Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD, often referred to as Kartagener syndrome in the clinical context) impairs the function of the cilia, resulting in inadequate cleansing of the respiratory tract with early infantile onset, sometimes life-threatening, lung disease. The cause of PCD are several genetic mutations, which occur with a frequency of about 1 in 10,000.
For decades, the Institute of Anatomy has offered microscopic procedures to the medical profession for the diagnosis of PCD, using electron microscopy and high-speed video microscopy. In 2018, the first comprehensive diagnostic center in Switzerland (PCD-UNIBE) was established in collaboration with the Inselspital Bern.
In addition to highly specific diagnostics, various research projects are being conducted to better understand mucociliary transport and the bio-physical consequences of PCD, as well as its epidemiology (see publications).
