title: Chronic inflammatory airway diseases: the central role of the epithelium revisited.
abstract: The respiratory epithelium plays a critical role for the maintenance of airway integrity and defense against inhaled particles. Physical barrier provided by apical junctions and mucociliary clearance clears inhaled pathogens, allergens or toxics, to prevent continuous stimulation of adaptive immune responses. The "chemical barrier", consisting of several anti-microbial factors such as lysozyme and lactoferrin, constitutes another protective mechanism of the mucosae against external aggressions before adaptive immune response starts. The reconstruction of damaged respiratory epithelium is crucial to restore this barrier. This review examines the role of the airway epithelium through recent advances in health and chronic inflammatory diseases in the lower conducting airways (in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Better understanding of normal and altered epithelial functions continuously provides new insights into the physiopathology of chronic airway diseases and should help to identify new epithelial-targeted therapies.
authors.affiliation: Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, Pole of Pneumology, ENT and Dermatology, Brussels, Belgium.|Department of Pneumology, Cliniques universitaires St-Luc, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Gohy
authors.affiliation: Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, Pole of Pneumology, ENT and Dermatology, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hupin
authors.affiliation: Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, Pole of Pneumology, ENT and Dermatology, Brussels, Belgium.|Department of Pneumology, Cliniques universitaires St-Luc, Brussels, Belgium.|Institute for Walloon Excellence in Lifesciences and Biotechnology (WELBIO), Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pilette
authors.affiliation: Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, Pole of Pneumology, ENT and Dermatology, Brussels, Belgium.|Institute for Walloon Excellence in Lifesciences and Biotechnology (WELBIO), Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: M Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Ladjemi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology