Apoptosis and airway inflammation in asthma

Asthma is a disease characterized by a chronic inflammation of the airways and by structural alterations of bronchial tissues, often referred to as ai rway remodelling. The development of chronic airway inflammation in asthma depends upon the continuous recruitment of inflammatory cells from the bloo dstream towards the bronchial mucosa and by their subsequent activation. It is however increasingly accepted that mechanisms involved in the regulatio n of the survival and apoptosis of inflammatory cells may play a central ro le in the persistent inflammatory process characterizing this disease. Incr eased cellular recruitment and activation, enhanced cell survival and cell: cell interactions are therefore the key steps in the development of chronic airway inflammation in asthma, and represent the major causes for tissue d amge, repair and remodelling.