BACKGROUND Airway remodeling and dysfunction are characteristic features of asthma thought to be caused by aberrant production of Th2 cytokines. Histamine H4 receptor (H4R) perturbation has previously been shown to modify acute inflammation and Th2 cytokine production in a murine model of asthma. We examined the ability of H4R antagonists to therapeutically modify the effects of Th2 cytokine pr...

Asthma is a disease characterized by reversible airway obstruction. An additional hallmark of chronic asthma is altered wound healing that leads to airway remodeling. Although beta-agonists are effective in treating the bronchospasm associated with asthma, their effects on airway wound healing, which are related to airway remodeling, are unknown. It has been demonstrated that beta-agonists can ...

Asthma is a complex disease of airway inflammation, which results in airway remodeling and hyper-responsiveness.1 Because asthma-related symptoms are not specific to asthma, diagnosis requires objective data from pulmonary function tests (PFT). Bronchodilator responsiveness and airway responsiveness to provocational stimuli (eg, methacholine, dry-gas hyperpnea) help establish the diagnosis of a...

Background Bronchial asthma is traditionally viewed as an eosinophilic airway inflammatory disorder with the involvement of Th2 cytokines. In refractory asthma, where chronic inflammation and airway remodeling are key pathological features, it is suggested that the dysregulation of the Th1/Th2 cytokines production modifies airway inflammation and airway hyperrespnsiveness (AHR). Interleukin (IL...

Airway hyper-reactivity is a characteristic feature of many inflammatory lung diseases and is defined as an exaggerated degree of airway narrowing. Chemokines and their receptors are involved in several pathological processes that are believed to contribute to airway hyper-responsiveness, including recruitment and activation of inflammatory cells, collagen deposition and airway wall remodeling....

Asthma is a chronic, heterogeneous and variable disease in which airways inflammation, transient obstruction and hyperresponsiveness are the major features of the illness (Faffe, 2008; Jenkins et al., 2005; Lemanske & Busse, 2010; Sugita et al., 2003). The inflammation in asthma is characterized by eosinophil cell infiltration although neutrophils are also observed in acute asthma exacerbation ...

Background: Asthma is the chronic inflammation of airways characterized by eosinophilic infiltration, mucus overproduction, airway hyper-responsiveness and airway remodeling. These changes are induced mostly by cytokines which are produced by T helper (Th) 2 cells. Recently, the role of interleukin-23 (IL-23) in the pathogenesis of adultallergic asthma has been studied. Objective: To explore IL...