Panettieri R A, Murray R K, DePalo L R, Yadvish P A, Kotlikoff M I
Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104-6046.
Am J Physiol. 1989 Feb;256(2 Pt 1):C329-35. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.1989.256.2.C329.
We report the development of a nontransformed line of human airway smooth muscle cells retaining smooth muscle-specific contractile protein expression and physiological responsiveness to agonists implicated in inflammatory airway diseases. Specific responses to histamine, leukotrienes, bradykinin, platelet-activating factor, substance P, and thromboxane analogues are demonstrated as well as functional coupling to beta-adrenergic receptors. The cell line was characterized using indirect immunofluorescence, as well as electrophoretic separation and immunoblot analysis of smooth muscle-specific actin. Functional responses were assessed by measurements of cytosolic calcium and stimulation of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate production. The cells retain their responsiveness over many population doublings and should be a useful model to examine specific receptor-effector mechanisms, as well as the effects of neurohumoral agents on the regulation of airway smooth muscle growth and differentiation.
