The underlying mechanism was that galectin-9 (Gal-9) signaling through the T-cell Ig and mucin domain-containing molecule (TIM) and neutrophil TIM-3/Gal-9 signaling is perturbed in the CF airways due to proteolytic degradation of the receptor (Vega-Carrascal et al., 2014). This evidence concerns the gene LGALS9 and cystic fibrosis.