G.N. Ramachandran Biology Seminar Series 2024: Perpetuated bronchial inflammation leads to tissue remodeling and angiogenesis in patients developing COPD

Venue: Saraswati-A01-018

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains a global health problem, with increasing morbidity and mortality. The disease exhibits various degrees of inflammatory changes, structural alterations of the airways leading to airflow limitation. Important characteristics of COPD include airway and vascular remodeling, of which the molecular mechanisms are complex and poorly understood. We and others have shown that airway smooth muscle cells are not only structural and contractile components of airways, rather they produce a large number of pro-inflammatory and mitogenic factors. Contribution of pulmonary angiogenesis and remodelling in the pathogenesis of COPD, and therapeutic avenues will be discussed.