ABSTRACT

The phenomenon of airway wall remodeling has challenged investigators of airflow obstruction to define remodeling, identify its characteristics, describe the relevance of some of the many possible trophic factors to human disease, and then go forward to characterize the action of current and novel antiasthma drugs in the regulation of these changes. Many standard techniques of airway investigation, including airway biopsy, have limitations because of the dy­ namic nature of tissue remodeling. There has been renewed interest in noninvasive estimates of airway elasticity and the application of sophisticated ani­ mal models to the study of remodeling influences and asthma therapies. Future studies will need to encompass a broad range of invasive and noninvasive techniques in both human and animal systems.