Widodo R, Djajalaksana S. J Respir Indones. 2012;32(2):110-9.
Abstract
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by reversible airflow limitation and airway hyperresponsiveness. Persistent inflammation in airway tissues may lead to structural changes known as airway remodeling and consequently airway obstruction that is not fully reversible and progressive loss of lung function over time. In asthma, airway structural changes include subepithelial fibrosis, increased smooth muscle mass, enlargement of glands, neovascularization, and epithelial alterations. A number of markers have been and are being considered as noninvasive markers of airway remodeling, including airway smooth muscle, eosinophil count and serum ECP, TGF-ß1, MMP-9 and TIMP-1, VEGF, serum tryptase, mucin and MUC genes, ADAM33, and functional markers : FEV1/FVC and airway distensibility (ΔVD).

Key words: asthma, airway remodeling, lung function, markers.

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