Impact of Elexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor Therapy on the Cystic Fibrosis Airway Microbial Metagenome

The introduction of mutation-specific combination therapy with the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ELX/TEZ/IVA) has substantially improved lung function and quality of life of people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Collecting deep cough swabs and induced sputum, this postapproval study examined the effect of 14- and 50-week treatment with ELX/TEZ/IVA on the airway microbial metagenome of pancreatic- insufficient CF patients aged 12 years and older. Compared to pretreatment, the total bacterial load decreased, the individual species were more evenly distributed in the community, and the individual microbial metagenomes became more similar in their composition. However, the microbial network remained vulnerable to fragmentation. The initial shift of the CF metagenome was attributable to the ELX/TEZ/IVA-mediated gain of CFTR activity followed by a diversification driven by a group of commensals at the 1-year time point that are typical for healthy airways. IMPORTANCE Shotgun metagenome sequencing of respiratory secretions with spike-in controls for normalization demonstrated that 1 year of high-efficient CFTR modulation with elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor extensively reduced the bacterial load. Longer observation periods will be necessary to resolve whether the partial reversion of the basic defect that is achieved with ELX/TEZ/IVA is sufficient in the long run to render the CF lungs robust against the recolonization with common opportunistic pathogens.