Leigh, RichardProud, DavidShariff, Sami2015-12-222015-12-222015-12-222015http://hdl.handle.net/11023/2699The traditional paradigm of airway remodeling in asthma has held that remodeling occurs after many years of chronic inflammation. However, studies have confirmed that remodeling changes are observed in children even before the clinical diagnosis of asthma is established. There is now robust evidence to indicate that children with recurrent human rhinovirus (HRV)-induced wheezing episodes are at significantly increased risk of developing subsequent asthma. A feature of airway remodeling is increased airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass with a greater proximity of the ASM to the subepithelial region, and we interrogated the hypothesis that HRV-induced alterations of airway epithelial cell biology might regulate ASM migration. We demonstrated that ASM chemotaxis is GPCR dependent, can be regulated by cAMP and is dependent upon CCL5 release by the epithelium post-HRV infection. These observations substantiate the growing body of evidence that links HRV infections to the subsequent development of asthma.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.Biology--CellMicrobiologyBiology--MolecularAsthmaHRVCommon ColdchemotaxisMigrationAirway smooth muscleEpitheliumAirway Remodelingmaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/26398