CFTR and cystic fibrosis: Since the cloning of the CFTR gene back in 1989 (Riordan et al., 1989), CFTR has been advocated as a potential therapeutic molecular target for the treatment of several diseases, including CF (Kerem et al., 1989; Riordan et al., 1989), chronic pancreatitis (Cohn, 2005), habitual constipation (Morris et al., 1999), secretory diarrhea and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (Li et al., 2004).