The ability of airway smooth muscle to alter its stiffness and contractility in response to
mechanical oscillation and stretch is critically important for the regulation of normal airway …

The functional properties of airway smooth muscle are fundamental to the properties of the
airways in vivo. However, many of the distinctive characteristics of smooth muscle are not …

The airway smooth muscle from asthmatic airways produces increased amounts and an
altered composition of extracellular matrix proteins. The extracellular matrix can in turn …

Airway smooth muscle is continuously subjected to mechanical forces caused by changes in
lung volume during breathing. These mechanical oscillations have profound effects on …

Despite the lack of a clearly defined physiological function, airway smooth muscle receives
substantial attention because of its involvement in the pathogenesis of asthma. Recent …

When strips of activated airway smooth muscle are stretched cyclically, they exhibit force-
length loops that vary substantially in both position and shape with the amplitude and …

In smooth muscle tissues, the relationship between muscle or cell length and active force
can be modulated by altering the cell or tissue length during stimulation. Mechanisms for this …

Contraction of smooth muscle in visceral organs is modified by structures external to the
muscle. Within muscle tissue itself, connective tissue plays an important role in force …

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 …

The airway smooth muscle cell can contract; relax; participate in allergic and inflammatory
responses by expressing adhesion molecules, releasing cytokines, and producing matrix …