The airway smooth muscle cell has a variety of properties, which confer on it the ability to
participate actively in the inflammatory process and the remodeling events, which
accompany severe, persistent asthma. Among these properties is its relationship to the
extracellular matrix (ECM) with which it interacts by releasing matrix proteins, matrix
metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs). Muscle cells derived from
asthmatic subjects proliferate faster, release a different profile of matrix proteins, produce …