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A new link to airway obstruction in asthma

Nature Medicine volume 13, pages 777–778 (2007)Cite this article

The factors that regulate airway goblet cell metaplasia and mucus secretion are essential to understanding how airway obstruction occurs in asthma. In this issue, Xiang et al. demonstrate the existence of an airway epithelial, extraneuronal GABAergic signaling system that promotes mucus overproduction during allergic airway inflammation (pages 862–867).

For many decades, asthma has been associated with airway allergic inflammation and with a heightened tendency of the airways to constrict, known as airway hyperreactivity (also called bronchial or airway hyperresponsiveness), in response to provocative agents such as cold, wet or dry air, allergens, heightened emotional states and cholinergic stimulation. If sufficiently robust, airway dysfunction in asthma can interfere with gas exchange and can trigger symptoms such as cough and shortness of breath. Asthma that is most severe, however, is also characterized by excessive airway mucus production that can block the airways and cause death by asphyxiation. In this issue of Nature Medicine, Xiang et al. show that the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) signaling pathway in the airway epithelium is linked to severe asthma through its ability to stimulate mucus production1.

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Figure 1: Regulation of goblet cell metaplasia during allergic airway inflammation.

Katie Ris

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. David B. Corry and Farrah Kheradmand are in the Departments of Medicine and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, BCM285, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. dcorry@bcm.tmc.edu,

    David B Corry & Farrah Kheradmand

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  1. David B Corry
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  2. Farrah Kheradmand
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Corry, D., Kheradmand, F. A new link to airway obstruction in asthma. Nat Med 13, 777–778 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0707-777

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