Study on the critical roles of apoptosis in asthma disease

Inflammation and remodeling in airways are the two crucial characteristics of asthma, a common respiratory disease. In asthma pathophysiology, the recruitment of granulocytes finally results in inflammation, leading to lung damage. In this regard, failure to clear inflammatory cells by programed cell death, apoptosis, will cause the prolongation of inflammation. On the other hand, in bronchial epithelial cells, apoptosis may occur, resulting in airway remodeling. Hence, dysregulation of apoptosis has been suggested to contribute to the development of asthma. Importantly, knowledge of the factors related to apoptotic cascade seems vital to explore various pharmacological interventions for the treatment of asthma. In this review, we highlight several important apoptotic and anti-apoptotic factors contributing either to inflammatory cells or bronchial epithelial cells involved in the asthma pathogenesis.