Related Experiment Videos
Immunological aspects of allergic asthma
B S Bochner1, B J Undem, L M Lichtenstein
1Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Asthma and Allergy Center, Baltimore, Maryland 21224.
Annual Review of Immunology
|January 1, 1994
Summary
Asthma is a chronic airway disease marked by inflammation and reversible airflow obstruction. Research highlights the critical role of airway inflammation in asthma
Area of Science:
- Pulmonology
- Immunology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Asthma is a chronic obstructive lower airway disease.
- Characterized by reversible airflow limitation, bronchial hyperreactivity, and airway inflammation.
- Airway inflammation is increasingly recognized as central to asthma pathogenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the immunologic phenomena involved in asthma.
- To explore the role of various mediators, cells, and pathways in asthma exacerbations.
- To inform the development of novel pharmacologic treatments targeting asthma's underlying mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Histopathologic, cytologic, and chemical analyses of asthma cases.
- Experimental studies of allergen-induced lower airway reactions.
- Examination of mediator release, vascular permeability, leukocyte activity, and neurogenic responses.
Main Results:
- Confirmed diverse immunologic events in asthma, including mediator release (arachidonic acid metabolites, kinins, cytokines).
- Observed vascular permeability changes, airway edema, leukocyte activation, and neurogenic responses.
- Identified key inflammatory pathways contributing to the asthmatic diathesis.
Conclusions:
- Airway inflammation is a critical component of asthma pathogenesis.
- Understanding these immunologic mechanisms guides the development of targeted asthma therapies.
- Novel antagonists targeting mediators, cells, and receptors offer new therapeutic avenues.