Abstract: Airway smooth muscle (ASM) cell dysfunction is an important component of several obstructive pulmonary diseases, particularly asthma. External stimuli such as allergens, dust, air pollutants, and change in environmental temperatures provoke ASM cell hypertrophy, proliferation, and migration without adequate mechanistic controls. ASM cells can switch between quiescent, migratory, and proliferative phenotypes in response to extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors, and other soluble mediators. While some aspects of airway hypertrophy and remodeling could have beneficial effects, in many cases these contribute to a clinical phenotype of difficult to control asthma. In this review, we discuss the factors responsible for ASM hypertrophy and proliferation in asthma, focusing on cytokines, growth factors, and ion transporters, and discuss existing and potential approaches that specifically target ASM hypertrophy to reduce the ASM mass and improve asthma symptoms. The goal of this review is to highlight strategies that appear ready for translational investigations to improve asthma therapy.

Keywords: airway smooth muscle cells, hypertrophy, proliferation, airway remodeling

中文翻译：

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针对哮喘患者的气道平滑肌肥大：一种时机已到的方法

摘要：气道平滑肌（ASM）细胞功能障碍是几种阻塞性肺部疾病（尤其是哮喘）的重要组成部分。在没有足够的机械控制的情况下，诸如过敏原，灰尘，空气污染物以及环境温度变化之类的外部刺激会导致ASM细胞肥大，增殖和迁移。ASM细胞可以响应细胞外基质蛋白，生长因子和其他可溶性介体，在静止，迁移和增生表型之间切换。尽管气道肥大和重塑的某些方面可能具有有益的作用，但在许多情况下，这些都会导致难以控制的哮喘的临床表型。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了导致哮喘ASM肥大和增殖的因素，重点是细胞因子，生长因子和离子转运蛋白，并讨论专门针对ASM肥大的现有和潜在方法，以减少ASM量并改善哮喘症状。这篇综述的目的是强调那些似乎已经准备好进行转化研究以改善哮喘治疗的策略。

关键词：气道平滑肌细胞肥大增殖气道重塑