Glucocorticoid actions in human bronchial epithelial cells

Diseases characterized by airway inflammation affect a substantial proportion of the population. These diseases include asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In the European Union, CO PO and asthma, together with pneumonia, are the third most common cause of death. In the last decade much progress has been made towards the understanding of the mechanisms underlying airway inflammation. The production of cytokines and growth factors in response to irritants, infectious agents and inflammatory mediators plays an important role in the initiation, perpetuation and inhibition of acute and chronic airway inflammation. Today, several models exist to visualize the processes by which airway inflammation is perpetuated in diseases such as asthma and COPD. These processes include the persistence of the acute inflammatory response and neurogenic inflammation. Better understanding of these processes will provide us with new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of these common chronic diseases.

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