TY - JOUR T1 - Airway smooth muscle dynamics: a common pathway of airway obstruction in asthma JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 834 LP - 860 DO - 10.1183/09031936.00112606 VL - 29 IS - 5 AU - S. S. An AU - T. R. Bai AU - J. H. T. Bates AU - J. L. Black AU - R. H. Brown AU - V. Brusasco AU - P. Chitano AU - L. Deng AU - M. Dowell AU - D. H. Eidelman AU - B. Fabry AU - N. J. Fairbank AU - L. E. Ford AU - J. J. Fredberg AU - W. T. Gerthoffer AU - S. H. Gilbert AU - R. Gosens AU - S. J. Gunst AU - A. J. Halayko AU - R. H. Ingram AU - C. G. Irvin AU - A. L. James AU - L. J. Janssen AU - G. G. King AU - D. A. Knight AU - A. M. Lauzon AU - O. J. Lakser AU - M. S. Ludwig AU - K. R. Lutchen AU - G. N. Maksym AU - J. G. Martin AU - T. Mauad AU - B. E. McParland AU - S. M. Mijailovich AU - H. W. Mitchell AU - R. W. Mitchell AU - W. Mitzner AU - T. M. Murphy AU - P. D. Paré AU - R. Pellegrino AU - M. J. Sanderson AU - R. R. Schellenberg AU - C. Y. Seow AU - P. S. P. Silveira AU - P. G. Smith AU - J. Solway AU - N. L. Stephens AU - P. J. Sterk AU - A. G. Stewart AU - D. D. Tang AU - R. S. Tepper AU - T. Tran AU - L. Wang Y1 - 2007/05/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/29/5/834.abstract N2 - Excessive airway obstruction is the cause of symptoms and abnormal lung function in asthma. As airway smooth muscle (ASM) is the effecter controlling airway calibre, it is suspected that dysfunction of ASM contributes to the pathophysiology of asthma. However, the precise role of ASM in the series of events leading to asthmatic symptoms is not clear. It is not certain whether, in asthma, there is a change in the intrinsic properties of ASM, a change in the structure and mechanical properties of the noncontractile components of the airway wall, or a change in the interdependence of the airway wall with the surrounding lung parenchyma. All these potential changes could result from acute or chronic airway inflammation and associated tissue repair and remodelling. Anti-inflammatory therapy, however, does not “cure” asthma, and airway hyperresponsiveness can persist in asthmatics, even in the absence of airway inflammation. This is perhaps because the therapy does not directly address a fundamental abnormality of asthma, that of exaggerated airway narrowing due to excessive shortening of ASM. In the present study, a central role for airway smooth muscle in the pathogenesis of airway hyperresponsiveness in asthma is explored. ER -