The most common mutation in the cystic fibrosis (CF) transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, DF508, results in the production of a misfolded protein that is rapidly degraded. The mutant protein is temperature sensitive, and prior studies indicate that the low-temperature-rescued channel is poorly responsive to physiological stimuli, and is rapidly degraded from the cell surface at 378C. In the present studies, we tested the effect of a recently characterized pharmacological corrector, 2-(5-chloro-2-methoxyphenylamino)-49-methyl-[4,59bithiazolyl-29-yl]-phenyl-methanone (corr-4a), on cell surface stability and function of the low-temperature-rescued DF508 CFTR. We demonstrate that corr-4a significantly enhanced the protein stability of rescued DF508 CFTR for up to 12 hours at 378C (P , 0.05). Using firefly luciferase-based reporters to investigate the mechanisms by which low temperature and corr4a enhance rescue, we found that low-temperature treatment inhibited proteasomal function, whereas corr-4a treatment inhibited the E1-E3 ubiquitination pathway. Ussing chamber studies indicated that corr-4a increased the cAMP-mediated DF508 CFTR response by 61% at 6 hours (P , 0.05), but not at later time points. However, addition of the CFTR channel activator, 4-methyl-2-(5-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)-phenol, significantly augmented cAMPstimulated currents, revealing that the biochemically detectable cell surface DF508 CFTR could be stimulated under the right conditions. Our studies demonstrate that stabilizing rescued DF508 CFTR was not sufficient to obtain maximal DF508 CFTR function in airway epithelial cells. These results strongly support the idea that maximal correction of DF508 CFTR requires a chemical corrector that: (1) promotes folding and exit from the endoplasmic reticulum; (2) enhances surface stability; and (3) improves channel activity.