Mechanisms of Airway Inflammation

¹ The Section of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison.

In conclusion, clinicians treating asthmatic patients should be aware that the airway obstruction present in these individuals is the result of multiple interrelated factors. Although bronchial smooth muscle spasm can be effectively treated producing rapid symptomatic relief, other factors contributing to airway obstruction, such as airway inflammation and edema, need to be a major focus of therapeutic strategies for more long-term management.

Late phase asthmatic responses have provided a convenient model to study the biochemical and cellular interactions that potentially contribute to the pathogenesis of asthma. These will aid in the analysis of the plausible beneficial effects of various pharmaceuticals as they undergo development and testing. Finally, the links between the evolution of late asthmatic reactions and airway hyperresponsiveness are intriguing and will provide a means to further explore both immunologic and inflammatory mechanisms by which airway hyperresponsiveness, a major clinical feature of asthma, may develop or be modulated over time.