| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Respiratory Research Group, 1 Faculty of Pharmacy and 2 Department of Pharmacology, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
Asthma is characterized by inflammation, hyperresponsiveness, and remodeling of the airway. Human mast cells (HMCs) play a central role in all of these changes by releasing mediators that cause exaggerated bronchoconstriction, induce human airway smooth muscle (HASM) cell proliferation, and recruit and activate inflammatory cells. Moreover, the number of HMCs present on asthmatic HASM is increased compared with that on nonasthmatic HASM. HASM cells also have the potential to actively participate in the inflammatory process by synthesizing cytokines and chemokines and expressing surface molecules, which have the capacity to perpetuate the inflammatory mechanisms present in asthma. This review specifically examines how the mediators of HMCs have the capacity to modulate many functions of HASM; how the synthetic function of HASM, particularly through the release and expression of stem cell factor, has the potential to influence HMC number and activation in an extraordinarily potent and proinflammatory manner; and how these interactions between HMCs and HASM have potential consequences for airway structure and inflammation relevant to the disease process of asthma.
contraction; proliferation; remodeling; inflammation; cytokines
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  T. G. Brock and C. Di Giulio Prolonged Exposure to Hyperoxia Increases Perivascular Mast Cells in Rat Lungs J. Histochem. Cytochem., November 1, 2006; 54(11): 1239 - 1246. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A Sutcliffe, D Kaur, S Page, L Woodman, C L Armour, M Baraket, P Bradding, J M Hughes, and C E Brightling Mast cell migration to Th2 stimulated airway smooth muscle from asthmatics Thorax, August 1, 2006; 61(8): 657 - 662. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. C. Valencia, G. Pacheco-Rodriguez, A. K. Carmona, J. Xavier, P. Bruneval, W. K. Riemenschneider, Y. Ikeda, Z.-X. Yu, V. J. Ferrans, and J. Moss Tissue-Specific Renin-Angiotensin System in Pulmonary Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., July 1, 2006; 35(1): 40 - 47. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. H. Cho, Z. Yao, S.-W. Wang, R. F. Alban, R. G. Barbers, S. W. French, and C. K. Oh Regulation of Activin A Expression in Mast Cells and Asthma: Its Effect on the Proliferation of Human Airway Smooth Muscle Cells J. Immunol., April 15, 2003; 170(8): 4045 - 4052. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Forsythe and A. D. Befus CCR3: A Key to Mast Cell Phenotypic and Functional Diversity? Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., April 1, 2003; 28(4): 405 - 409. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Bergner and M. J. Sanderson ATP stimulates Ca2+ oscillations and contraction in airway smooth muscle cells of mouse lung slices Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, December 1, 2002; 283(6): L1271 - L1279. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. E. Brightling, P. Bradding, F. A. Symon, S. T. Holgate, A. J. Wardlaw, and I. D. Pavord Mast-Cell Infiltration of Airway Smooth Muscle in Asthma N. Engl. J. Med., May 30, 2002; 346(22): 1699 - 1705. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Black The Role of Mast Cells in the Pathophysiology of Asthma N. Engl. J. Med., May 30, 2002; 346(22): 1742 - 1743. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |
