Chronic inflammatory airway diseases: the central role of the epithelium revisited
(2016) Clinical and Experimental Allergy — Vol. 46, n° 4, p. 529-542 (2016)
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- Abstract
- The respiratory epithelium plays a critical role for the maintenance of airway integrity and defense against inhaled particles. Physical barrier provided by apical junctions and mucociliary clearance allows to clear inhaled pathogens, allergens or toxics, to prevent continuous stimulation of adaptive immune responses. The “chemical barrier”, consisting of several anti-microbial factors such as lysozyme and lactoferrin, represents another protective mechanism of the mucosae against external aggressions before adaptive immune response starts. Finally, repair of the respiratory epithelium is necessary to restore this barrier after damage. This review revisits the role of the airway epithelium based on recent advances in health and chronic inflammatory diseases in the lower conducting airways (in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Better understanding of normal and altered epithelial functions continuously provides new insights into the physiopathology of chronic airway diseases and should help to identify new epithelial-targeted thérapies.
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Gohy, S., Hupin, C., Pilette, C., & Ladjemi, M. (2016). Chronic inflammatory airway diseases: the central role of the epithelium revisited. Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 46(4), 529-542. https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.12712 (Original work published 2016)