Cellular sources of airway smooth muscle cells in asthmatic airway remodeling and their clinical relevance: a narrative review

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Airway remodeling in asthma refers to numerous structural changes in the airway in asthmatic patients, with thickening of the airway smooth muscle layer as its core feature. However, the nature and sources of the abnormally increased airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) in airway remodeling remain unclear. ASMCs play a key role in the pathogenesis of fatal asthma; therefore, it is important to clarify the properties and sources of these ASMCs responsible for asthmatic airway remodeling, which may provide a new direction for the precise treatment for asthma. METHODS: We performed a narrative review of the literature on PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases searching for the cellular sources of ASMCs in asthmatic airway remodeling and their clinical relevance. KEY CONTENT AND FINDINGS: It has long been thought that ASMCs are the result of abnormal proliferation of the native ASMCs in asthma; however, increasing evidence suggests that increased “ASMCs” may be due to the differentiation/transdifferentiation of other cells including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), myofibroblasts (MYFs), pericytes, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Recently, several pharmacological and biological therapies aimed at “reducing asthmatic ASMCs” have been developed, among which gallopamil, JQ1 [an inhibitor of the bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) protein family], and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors can alleviate asthma airway remodeling and hyperresponsiveness and improve asthma symptoms in both mouse models and preclinical experiments. CONCLUSIONS: As one of the core features of asthma, ASMCs are an important effector of airway remodeling. It has become extremely important to develop therapies for the reduction and prevention of the “ASMCs” on the basis of the properties and sources of “ASMCs”. Many studies have shown that epigenetic regulation is closely related to the abnormal increase of ASMCs in asthma, and interfering with epigenetic regulation factors can reduce the increased smooth muscle cells. Although the epigenetic regulation of asthma is still in its nascent stage, epigenetic therapy targeting “ASMCs” may become another new strategy for asthma prevention and treatment.