Mast cells in asthma: Here I am, stuck in the middle with you. Issue 1 (2nd July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Penn, Raymond B.
• Is Part Of: European respiratory journal. Volume 56:Issue 1(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-07-02
• Subjects: Respiratory organs -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Respiration -- Periodicals; 616.2
• DOI: 10.1183/13993003.01337-2020
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0903-1936

Abstract

Mast cells play an important role in allergic lung inflammation in asthma, contributing to both the early-phase reaction as well as the late-phase reactions of asthma through the release of numerous agents [1]. Mast cell precursors from the blood migrate to and embed themselves into the airway wall, including within airway smooth muscle (ASM) bundles [2, 3], where they are exposed to a host of local factors that cause them to "mature" into a critical immunomodulatory cell [4]. Cromylyn sodium, based on its presumed ability as a "mast cell stabiliser", was once a popular asthma drug (and preferred for children), before corticosteroids and cysteinyl leukotriene (CysLT) receptor antagonists emerged as the drugs of choice for managing lung inflammation [5]. Bonvini and co-workers employ a creative combination of cell, tissue and in vivo models to delineate a complex intercellular communication between mast cells and airway smooth muscle by which TRPV4 activation causes bronchoconstriction https://bit.ly/35U4Mqg