Regulation of human airway mesenchymal cell proliferation by glucocorticoids and β2-adrenoceptor agonists

Abstract

Altered rates of cell proliferation play important roles in the pathogenesis of a variety of conditions, including cancer, inflammation and several airway and cardiovascular diseases. One of the most consistently observed changes in asthmatic airways is an increased volume of airway smooth muscle (ASM), that has been explained by proliferation, hypertrophy, extracellular matrix deposition within the smooth muscle bundles, and more recently, the migration of mesenchymal precursor cells to the airways. The best characterised of these is proliferation of ASM cells. In vitro studies suggest that the proliferation is driven by various mitogens, and ECM proteins found in asthma, such as collagen t..