Allergic Bronchial Asthma: Airway Inflammation and Hyperresponsiveness

Abstract

The international consensus report on diagnosis and treatment of asthma was published in 1992 (Clin ExpAllergy 22: 1-72). According to the report, asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many cells play a role, including mast cells and eosinophils.Airway inflammation causes various symptoms of asthma which are usually associated with widespread but variable airflow obstruction and causes an associated increase in airway responsiveness to a variety of stimuli. The definition of asthma, provided in this report, is an epoch-making revision of the conventional recognition of asthma based on respiratory physiology and does not contradict the empirical knowledge that asthma responds well to steroid therapy. One reason, which led airway inflammation to be understood as a major factor in the pathophysiology of asthma is the technological advance and the widespread use of bronchoscopes. The use of bronchoscopyas a research tool has markedly improved the understanding of the pathology of asthma. It became also possible to link biopsy findings to autopsy findings in patients who died of asthma. However, it is relatively difficult to repeat a biopsy of the airway mucosal membranes in individual asthmatic patients. Here, animal models of asthma play a significant role. Findings from animal models can provide a clue for the development of new anti-asthmatic drugs. This paper will deal with the paradigm of allergic asthma and focus on recent topics of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5, which seem to play a central role in allergic asthma. The causative relationship between airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness will be discussed. (Internal Medicine 42: 636-643, 2003)

Particulate allergens potentiate allergic asthma in mice through sustained IgE-mediated mast cell activation

“…Allergic asthma is a pathological condition of the airways characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), inflammation, and a cellular infiltrate dominated by eosinophils (1,2). During the past decade, the incidence and severity of allergic asthma has grown sharply (3).…”

Expression and Regulation of CCR1 by Airway Smooth Muscle Cells in Asthma

“…A sthma is an inflammatory condition of the airways characterized by bronchial hyperresponsiveness, infiltration of inflammatory cells, and airway remodeling (1)(2)(3). Increased airway smooth muscle mass is an important feature of airway remodeling and has been linked in different ways to asthma pathogenesis (4,5).…”

“…Increased airway smooth muscle mass is an important feature of airway remodeling and has been linked in different ways to asthma pathogenesis (4,5). In the last decade, several studies have shown that airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC) 3 may contribute to airway inflammation through the release of cytokines and chemokines such as TNF-␣, IL-1␤, CCL11 (eotaxin), and CCL5 (RANTES) (6). ASMC were also shown to respond to a wide variety of immune mediators and to express receptors for several noninflammatory cytokines (7).…”

Effects of pear ethanol extract on asthma induced by ovalbumin in mice

“…천식 환자는 일반 적으로 기도 (airway)의 광범위한 수축을 보이며, 임상적으로 발작적인 호흡 곤란이나 기침, 천명음을 발생시킨다 2) . 면역학 적인 측면에서 천식의 형태는 Th2 반응에 기인하는 기도의 만성 염증 질환 (chronic inflammatory disorder)에 속하며, 이러한 만성 염증 질환에서 IgE 의존성 비만세포 (mast cell) 의 활성화 과정이 매우 중요한 것으로 알려져 있다 3,4) . 배 (梨, Pear)는 기원상으로 돌배 (일본배, 沙梨, Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai.…”