Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society Email Content Delivery
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

The Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society 5:3 (2008)
© 2008 The American Thoracic Society
doi: 10.1513/pats.200710-163VS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Panettieri, R. A.
Right arrow Articles by Solway, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Panettieri, R. A., Jr.
Right arrow Articles by Solway, J.

Virtual Symposium on Airway Smooth Muscle

Reynold A. Panettieri, Jr., M.D.

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Julian Solway, M.D.

University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Airflow obstruction in asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cystic fibrosis contributes markedly to the morbidity and mortality of these diseases. Although the precise mechanisms promoting airway obstruction remain unclear, airway smooth muscle (ASM) shortening plays a central role, and administration of bronchodilators to relax ASM has been a mainstay of treatment. Beyond its role in regulating airway luminal caliber, ASM may also secrete substances that promote airway inflammation, remodeling, and fibrosis. In the past five years, new therapies directed toward eliminating ASM (such as bronchial thermoplasty) have been developed, and their limited but beneficial effects in asthma prove the principle that ASM is indeed a reasonable therapeutic target. The goal of this issue is to provide concise reviews of important areas related to ASM function in hopes of developing new therapeutic strategies for modulating myocyte function. We hope that the greater understanding of ASM function gained from these reviews will inspire our readers to develop new approaches to preventing airflow obstruction while decreasing the morbidity and mortality from these common diseases.

FOOTNOTES

Conflict of Interest Statement: R.A.P. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this manuscript. J.S. has received honoraria from various pharmaceutical companies (Merck, Tanox, Critical Therapeutics, Genentech, Cytokinetics) for service on their Advisory Boards, and has pending research grant support of approximately $254,000 from AstraZeneca.





This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Panettieri, R. A.
Right arrow Articles by Solway, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Panettieri, R. A., Jr.
Right arrow Articles by Solway, J.

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS