Asthma represents a chronic inflammatory process of the airways followed by healing, the
end-result of which is an altered structure referred to as a remodeling of the airways. Repair
usually involves 2 distinct processes: regeneration (which is the replacement of injured
tissue by parenchymal cells of the same type) and replacement by connective tissue and its
eventual maturation into scar tissue. In many instances both processes contribute to the
healing response and inflammation. In asthma the processes of cell dedifferentiation …