In vitro Model

In vitro Model of Airway Narrowing Asthmatic subjects lack the bronchodilating response and bronchoprotective effects of deep inspirations. However, the underlying mechanisms of this behavior are not clear at the contractile protein or tissue levels. We developed an in vitro model of airway narrowing in order to quantitatively assess how and to what degree the observed alternations in airway smooth muscle cross-bridge kinetics and airway wall remodeling can account for the above clinical observations in asthma and COPD. The model simultaneously includes dynamics of breathing and various physiological levels of muscle activation.