69 - Drugs that Remodel the Airways Flashcards
Drugs not effective for asthma or colds
Antihistamines
Asthma definition 1) 2) 3) 4)
1) Chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways
2) Many cells, cellular elements play a role
3) Chronic inflammation is associated with hyperresponsiveness that leads to recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, coughing
4) Widespread, variable and often reversible airflow limitation
Inflammation in asthma
1)
2)
3)
1) Inflammation of airway wall
2) Eosinophils present. Release cytotoxins
3) Desquamation
What leads to desquamation in asthmatic inflammation
Eosinophils release toxic products that lead to epithelial cell apoptosis
Cells recruited by activated mast cells
1)
2)
1) Eosinophils
2) Neutrophils
Things affected by mast cells in inflammation 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)
1) Other cells (eosinophils, neutrophils)
2) Epithelial cells (shedding)
3) Subendothelial fibrosis
4) Sensory nerve activation
5) Blood vessels (oedema, plasma leak, vasodilation, angiogenesis)
6) Mucus secretion, hyperplasia
7) Cholinergic reflex
8) Airway smooth muscle
Timeline of mucosal oedema in asthma
1)
2)
3)
1) Normal at 0 minutes
2) Closed at 10 minutes
3) Red, glistening, swollen at 30 minutes. From mucus secretion, oedema, vasodilation
What can lead to fatal asthma?
Mucus plugs (can occlude 50% of lumen)
Classes of drugs for treating asthma
Relievers, controllers, preventers
Things that can lead to airway lumen occlusion
1)
2)
3)
1) Airway smooth muscle contraction
2) Bronchial wall oedema
3) Mucus hypersecretion
Asthmatic processes that relievers, controllers and preventers can stop
Airway smooth muscle contraction
Asthmatic processes that preventers can stop
Bronchial wall oedema, mucus hypersecretion
Shape of airway smooth muscle
Single band around the trachea
Why can the trachea resist collapse?
Horse-shoe shape of cartilage. Resists collapse from smooth muscle contraction
Distribution of smooth muscle in airways
Irregularly distributed in smaller intraperenchymal bronchi, together with cartilage plates, which disappear in later generations.
Effect of preventing deep breathing
Can lead to alveolar contraction.
Deep breathing leads to lower pressure in airways from movement of air. Reducing flow of air leads to increasing air pressure, which smooth muscle contracts against.
Airway smooth muscle layout
Arranged roughly circumferentially around the airways in irregularly-distributed bands
Determinant of airway resistance during expiration
Velocity of contraction
Muscle that shortens faster
Unloaded muscle
What opposes muscle shortening?
Stretch
Contractile mechanism of airway smooth muscle 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
1) Increase in intracellular Ca2+
2) Ca2+ binds calmodulin
3) Calmodulin activates myosin light chain kinase activity
4) Myosin light chain kinase phosphorylates myosin light chain
5) Actomyosin ATPase activated, which allows crossbridge formation