CFTR and cystic fibrosis: Despite a substantial and sustained presence of phagocytic and lymphocytic immune cells at the infected compartment, the host is not able to efficiently eliminate P. aeruginosa, particularly in pulmonary disease conditions, such as CF (caused by mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator, CFTR, gene) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, caused by cigarette smoke; Hartl et al., 2012; Mall and Hartl, 2014; Yonker et al., 2015).