Bajbouj Khuloud, Ramakrishnan Rakhee K, Hamid Qutayba
College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.
Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.
J Immunol Res. 2021 Feb 13;2021:6645072. doi: 10.1155/2021/6645072. eCollection 2021.
Asthma is a chronic airway disorder associated with aberrant inflammatory and remodeling responses. Angiogenesis and associated vascular remodeling are one of the pathological hallmarks of asthma. The mechanisms underlying angiogenesis in asthmatic airways and its clinical relevance represent a relatively nascent field in asthma when compared to other airway remodeling features. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are proteases that play an important role in both physiological and pathological conditions. In addition to facilitating extracellular matrix turnover, these proteolytic enzymes cleave bioactive molecules, thereby regulating cell signaling. MMPs have been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma by interacting with both the airway inflammatory cells and the resident structural cells. MMPs also cover a broad range of angiogenic functions, from the degradation of the vascular basement membrane and extracellular matrix remodeling to the release of a variety of angiogenic mediators and growth factors. This review focuses on the contribution of MMPs and the regulatory role exerted by them in angiogenesis and vascular remodeling in asthma as well as addresses their potential as therapeutic targets in ameliorating angiogenesis in asthma.
哮喘是一种与异常炎症和重塑反应相关的慢性气道疾病。血管生成及相关的血管重塑是哮喘的病理特征之一。与其他气道重塑特征相比，哮喘气道中血管生成的潜在机制及其临床相关性在哮喘领域中尚处于起步阶段。基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）是一类蛋白酶，在生理和病理条件下均发挥重要作用。除了促进细胞外基质更新外，这些蛋白水解酶还能切割生物活性分子，从而调节细胞信号传导。MMPs通过与气道炎症细胞和固有结构细胞相互作用，参与了哮喘的发病机制。MMPs还具有广泛的血管生成功能，从血管基底膜的降解、细胞外基质重塑到多种血管生成介质和生长因子的释放。本综述重点关注MMPs在哮喘血管生成和血管重塑中的作用及其调控作用，并探讨其作为治疗靶点改善哮喘血管生成的潜力。
