![]() Critically important in regulating bronchomotor tone of the airways. Found in the trachea and along the bronchial tree. This review will present evidence that ASM, a "passive" contractile tissue, may become an "active participant" in modulating inflammation in chronic lung diseases. In addition, ASM mass increases in chronic airway diseases and may represent either a pathologic or an injury-repair response due to chronic inflammation. ASM may also serve immunomodulatory functions, which are mediated by the secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators such as cytokines and chemokines. The shortening of ASM regulates airway luminal diameter and modulates airway resistance, which can be augmented by cytokines as well as extracellular matrix alterations. Evidence, however, suggests that ASM undergoes marked phenotypic modulation in lung development and in disease states such as asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The physiological relevance of ASM in healthy airways remains unclear. Airway smooth muscle (ASM), an important tissue involved in the regulation of bronchomotor tone, exists in the trachea and in the bronchial tree up to the terminal bronchioles.
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