Epithelial-mesenchymal transition and the airway remodeling of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease / 医学研究生学报

ABSTRACT

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD) is a group of chronic airway inflammatory disease characterized by sustained airflow limitation and pulmonary function damage.Inflammation and tissue repair repeatedly result in airway remodeling.Now the mechanisms of airway remodeling remain unclear.More and more researches indicated that epithelial mesenchymal transition ( EMT) is crucial in the airway remodeling of COPD.EMT could be induced by various cell factors and signal channels in the airway epithelium, thus the airway remodeling happened.This review systematically introduces EMT and focuses on the relationship of EMT and airway remodeling of COPD and the probable mechanisms.