Tracheal Smooth Muscle Cells (TSMC)

Tracheal smooth muscle is the main part of the respiratory tract, to maintain airway tone and plays an important physiological role. Proliferation of tracheal smooth muscle cells (TSMC) is an important component of airway remodeling in asthma, and it is also an important target for the development of anti asthma agents.

Researches suggest that in TSMC, activation of MAPK pathways, NF-kappaB, and p300 is essential for TNF-alpha-induced VCAM-1 expression.Cultured tracheal smooth muscle cells (TSMC) express three p21-activated kinase (PAK) isoforms which may promote TSMC migration by signaling to p38 MAPK. TSMC proliferation is an important component of airway remodeling in asthma and is consequently a target for the development of novel anti-asthma agents.