Bronchial Smooth Muscle Cells (BSMC)

Bronchial smooth muscle cells (BSMC) proliferation may lead to increased muscle mass in the airways of patients with asthma. The antiproliferative effect of glucocorticoids in bronchial smooth-muscle cells in subjects without asthma is mediated by a complex of the glucocorticoid receptor and the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBPalpha). Studies indicate that a cell-type-specific absence of C/EBPalpha is responsible for the enhanced proliferation of bronchial smooth-muscle cells derived from subjects with asthma and that it explains the failure of glucocorticoids to inhibit proliferation in vitro. BSMC express CT-1 and release GM-CSF, RANTES and IL-8 in vitro . In order to develop therapies for asthma, researchers have utilized BSMC to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying BSMC proliferation.