Title: Airway smooth muscle as an immunomodulatory cell.

Authors: Damera, Gautam; Tliba, Omar; Panettieri Jr, Reynold A

Published In Pulm Pharmacol Ther, (2009 Oct)

Abstract: Although pivotal in regulating bronchomotor tone in asthma, airway smooth muscle (ASM) also modulates airway inflammation in asthma. ASM myocytes secrete or express a wide array of immunomodulatory mediators in response to extracellular stimuli, and in chronic severe asthma, increases in ASM mass may also render the airway irreversibly obstructed. Although the mechanisms by which ASM secretes cytokines and chemokines are shared with those regulating immune cells, there exist unique ASM signaling pathways that may provide novel therapeutic targets. This review provides an overview of our current understanding of the proliferative as well as synthetic properties of ASM.

PubMed ID: 19121407

MeSH Terms: Asthma/immunology; Asthma/metabolism; Bronchi/immunology*; Cell Adhesion Molecules/metabolism; Chemokines/metabolism; Cytokines/antagonists & inhibitors; Cytokines/metabolism; Glucocorticoids/pharmacology; Humans; Immunologic Factors/metabolism*; Models, Immunological; Muscle, Smooth/immunology*; Muscle, Smooth/metabolism*; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle/immunology*; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle/metabolism*; Respiratory System/immunology*; Respiratory System/metabolism*; Toll-Like Receptors/metabolism