Mechanisms of airway epithelial damage: epithelial-mesenchymal interactions in the pathogenesis of asthma

The aims of this article are to understand the shortfalls in thinking of asthma purely as an atopic disorder, to gain insight into the epithelial abnormalities of asthma and how these interface with the environment, and to view asthma as a disease of airway wall restructuring that engages activation of the epithelial mesenchymal trophic unit (EMTU). Furthermore, based on these developments, possible novel therapeutic targets for chronic asthma are identified.