Though asthma is a common and relatively easy to diagnose disease, attempts at primary or secondary prevention, and cure, have been disappointing. The widespread use of inhaled steroids has dramatically improved asthma control but has offered nothing in terms of altering long-term outcomes or reversing airway remodeling and impairment in lung function. The inability to cure asthma is unsurprising given our limited understanding of the factors that contribute to disease initiation and persistence. New data have focused on the airway epithelium as a potentially key factor orchestrating the different stages of asthma. In this review we summarize for the clinician the current evidence on the central role of the airway epithelium in asthma pathogenesis and the factors that may alter epithelial integrity and functionality.

尽管哮喘是一种常见且相对容易诊断的疾病，但一级或二级预防和治疗的尝试却令人失望。吸入类固醇的广泛使用极大地改善了哮喘控制，但在改变长期结果或逆转气道重塑和肺功能损伤方面没有任何作用。鉴于我们对导致疾病发生和持续的因素了解有限，哮喘无法治愈也就不足为奇了。新的数据集中在气道上皮细胞作为协调哮喘不同阶段的潜在关键因素。在这篇综述中，我们为临床医生总结了气道上皮在哮喘发病机制中的核心作用以及可能改变上皮完整性和功能的因素的当前证据。