Cellular network in airways inflammation and remodelling

2002

Chronic inflammation and airway remodelling are two key steps in asthma pathophysiology. The development of chronic airway inflammation depends upon the continuous recruitment of inflammatory cells from the bloodstream towards the bronchial mucosa and by their subsequent functional activation. The release of inflammatory mediators by activated cells contributes to the generation of a complex network which involves mobile inflammatory cells and structural cells such as epithelial cells, fibroblasts and myofibroblasts. This network is responsible for the amplification and persistence of the inflammatory process as well as for the development of a peculiar microenvironment which can directly m…