THE ROLE OF FIBROBLAST IN DEVELOPMENT OF AIRWAY REMODELING IN ASTHMA

Abstract

Airway remodeling is an important component of the structural changes of airways seen in asthma. Fibroblasts are mesenchymal stem cells found in organism at non-contractile fibroblasts form or at contractility properties having myofibroblasts form. During asthma, lung fibroblasts population is significantly increased due to higher their proliferation ratio and increased epithelial-mesenchymal transition and fibrocytes infiltration into asthmatic lungs from peripheral blood. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition is a process, during which part of epithelial cells takes mesenchymal cells properties and altered epithelial-mesenchymal transition process is determined at various lung diseases. Fibrocytes have fibroblasts, monocytes and hematopoietic stem cells characteristics and during chronic airway inflammation can infiltrate into asthmatic lungs and differentiate into fibroblasts. Increased fibroblasts population at lungs due to increased their proliferation ratio, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and fibrocytes infiltration, contribute to altered extracellular matrix proteins deposition and increased levels of various cytokines, chemokines and growth factors leading to development of airway remodeling in asthma.