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July 2, 2007 Airway remodeling in severe asthmaSummary Findings - In a recent lecture, Hamid of the McGill Univ in Montreal, Canada described some of his group's recent findings in endobronchial biopsies obtained from asthmatics of varying severity and a control population. Using several techniques, including laser capture microdissection, they have found that, in severe PA, cytokines such as IL-8 and IL-6 are prominently deposited in the airways, as contrasted to prominent eotaxin deposition in the bronchial wall in mild-moderate allergic asthma. There is also deposition of of matrix metalloproteinase in the fibroblasts in severe PA. Transforming growth factor beta is also deposited in severe PA correlating with the degree of local fibrosis. This fibrosis may be due to deposition of collagen and certain other proteins. Editor's Comments These comments by a highly regarded investigator of the pathogenesis of asthma highlight the fact that asthma is a complex disorder with likely different inflammatory patterns. However, an increased frequency of mast cells in the bronchial wall is present in most asthmatics.
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