CFTR and cystic fibrosis: Considering the high potentiality of Esc peptides to work as novel therapeutics, the objectives of the present study aimed at i) designing new Esc peptide analogs to optimize their efficacy for the dual antimicrobial and CFTR potentiator function; ii) investigating their effect on the ion currents mediated by different pathogenic variants of CFTR along with the underlying molecular mechanism; and iii) evaluating the capability of selected peptides to preserve antibacterial activity in CF-mimicking lung disease.