Tachykinin receptors and airway pathophysiology.

The mammalian tachykinins (TKs), substance P and neurokinin A, are present in sensory nerve fibres in the upper and lower airways of various mammalian species, including humans. TKs are released from these afferent nerves in an "efferent" mode at peripheral level, especially in response to irritant stimuli. TKs exert a variety of biological effects (bronchoconstriction, plasma protein extravasation, stimulation of mucus secretion), collectively known as "neurogenic inflammation", and this process is thought to be of potential pathogenic relevance for various airway diseases. The recent development of potent and selective TK receptor antagonists on the one hand provides important new tools for the understanding of basic airway physiology and pathophysiology and, on the other, opens new possibilities for therapy of airway diseases.