Mucus Hypersecretion in Respiratory Disease

A number of chronic respiratory diseases including chronic bronchitis, asthma, cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis are characterized by mucus hypersecretion. Following damage to the airway epithelium, a repair process of dedifferentiation, regenerative proliferation and redifferentiation takes place that is invariably accompanied by mucus hypersecretion as a key element in the host defence mechanism. In chronic respiratory diseases, however, excessive mucus production leads to a pathological state with increased risk of infection, hospitalization and morbidity. An understanding of the mechanisms that underlie and maintain this hypersecretory phenotype is therefore crucial …