Mechanical strain causes adaptive change in bronchial fibroblasts enhancing profibrotic and inflammatory responses

Asthma is characterized by periodic episodes of bronchoconstriction and reversible airway obstruction; these symptoms are attributable to a number of factors including increased mass and reactivity of bronchial smooth muscle and extracellular matrix (ECM) in asthmatic airways. Literature has suggested changes in cell responses and signaling can be elicited via modulation of mechanical stress acting upon them, potentially affecting the microenvironment of the cell. In this study, we hypothesized that mechanical strain directly affects the (myo)fibroblast phenotype in asthma. Therefore, we characterized responses of bronchial fibroblasts, from 6 normal and 11 asthmatic non-smoking volunteers,…