The role of inflammation resolution speed in airway smooth muscle mass accumulation in asthma: insight from a theoretical model.

ABSTRACT: Despite a large amount of in vitro data, the dynamics of airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass increase in the airways of patients with asthma is not well understood. Here, we present a novel mathematical model that describes qualitatively the growth dynamics of ASM cells over short and long terms in the normal and inflammatory environments typically observed in asthma. The degree of ASM accumulation can be explained by an increase in the rate at which ASM cells switch between non-proliferative and proliferative states, driven by episodic inflammatory events. Our model explores the idea that remodelling due to ASM hyperplasia increases with the frequency and magnitude of these inflammatory events, relative to certain sensitivity thresholds. It highlights the importance of inflammation resolution

SUBMITTER: Chernyavsky IL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3954558 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature