Dept of Paediatric Pulmonology and Allergology, Erasmus MC - Sophia Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Dept of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Eur Respir Rev. 2021 Jan 19;30(159). doi: 10.1183/16000617.0186-2020. Print 2021 Mar 31.
Small airways (<2 mm in diameter) are probably involved across almost all asthma severities and they show proportionally more structural and functional abnormalities with increasing asthma severity. The structural and functional alterations of the epithelium, extracellular matrix and airway smooth muscle in small airways of people with asthma have been described over many years using studies, animal models or imaging and modelling methods. The purpose of this review was to provide an overview of these observations and to outline several potential pathophysiological mechanisms regarding the role of small airways in asthma.
小气道（直径<2 毫米）可能涉及几乎所有哮喘严重程度，并且随着哮喘严重程度的增加，它们表现出更多的结构和功能异常。多年来，使用研究、动物模型或成像和建模方法描述了哮喘患者小气道中上皮细胞、细胞外基质和气道平滑肌的结构和功能改变。本综述的目的是提供这些观察结果的概述，并概述几个关于小气道在哮喘中作用的潜在病理生理机制。
