title: Modulation of calcium homeostasis as a mechanism for altering smooth muscle responsiveness in asthma.
abstract: Airway hyperresponsiveness remains a defining characteristic of asthma. Traditional views assert that airway smooth muscle is an important structural effector cell in the bronchi that modulates bronchomotor tone induced by contractile agonists. New evidence, however, suggests that abnormalities in airway smooth muscle functions, induced by variety of extracellular stimuli, may play an important role in the development of airway hyperresponsiveness. Studies using isolated bronchial preparations or cultured cells show that inflammatory mediators and cytokines may alter calcium homeostasis in airway smooth muscle and render the cells nonspecifically hyperreactive to agonists.
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, 848 BRB II/III, 421 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. amrani@mail.med.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Yassine
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Amrani
authors.forename: Reynold A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Panettieri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001980:Bronchi / Q000378:metabolism*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D016207:Cytokines; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000378:metabolism; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000473:pathology*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D009842:Oligopeptides; C412708:calcium-like peptide CALP1; D002118:Calcium