Changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) components in the lungs are associated with the progression of respiratory diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Increased deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in the reticular basement membrane region, lamina propria, and submucosa is a characteristic of asthmatic airways and contributes to the airway wall thickening and airflow obstruction.

This review summarizes our current knowledge of the alterations in the ECM in asthma, COPD, and IPF, and the contributions of these alterations to the pathologies.

In asthma, ECM in ASM is related to the dynamics of airway function in the absence of differences in ECM expression between asthma and controls. This indicates that the ASM layer in its full composition is a major structural component in determining variable airways obstruction in …

Background: Airway remodeling is a prominent feature of asthma, which involves increased airway smooth muscle mass and altered extracellular matrix composition. Bronchial thermoplasty (BT), a bronchoscopic treatment for severe asthma, targets airway remodeling.

Jul 7, 2022 · We show that LOXL2 expression is increased in asthma, and that LOXL2 inhibition reduces ASM cell ECM stiffness and TGF-β activation in vitro and reduces airway remodelling in an in vivo asthma model.

ECM from asthmatic ASM cells was found to enhance IL-13–dependent eotaxin release from ASM cells cultured from either healthy subjects or subjects with asthma and Western immunoblot revealed that cells from subjects with asthma expressed higher constitutive levels of fibronectin.

There is an intimate relationship between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and smooth muscle cells within the airways. Few studies have comprehensively assessed the composition of different ECM components and its regulators within the airway smooth muscle (ASM) in asthma.

The impaired production of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins by airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC) and pulmonary fibroblasts (PF) is a part of airway remodeling in asthma. This process might be influenced by eosinophils that migrate to the airway and abundantly secrete various cytokines, including TGF-β.

Jan 6, 2023 · Airway remodeling in asthma is caused by changes in the cellular matrix and ECM, which lead to narrowed airways due to thickened airway walls; this is a key pathologic feature of asthma. 27 Eosinophilic inflammation in the airway wall (and in induced sputum) has been related to the extent of reticular basement membrane thickening in asthma and ...