Asthma has rapidly become one of the most common chronic illnesses of
the Western world, and its prevalence continues to rise, with the
proportion of patients with more severe diseases also increasing. Faced
with this problem, more researchers are focusing on the causes,
mechanisms, and pathophysiology of asthma. The major hopes are that more
effective drugs will become available and that preventive measures can
be instituted. Increasingly, molecular and cell bi- ogy approaches are
being used to characterize and understand the mechanisms of the
inflammatory process that is typical of the asthmatic airway. This
volume on Asthma: Mechanisms and Protocols in the Methods in Molecular
Medicineseries provides an overview of the molecular mechanisms involved
in asthma by p- viding extensive protocols that are being used in asthma
research. Briefly, it c- ers details of methods for obtaining cells from
the airways, analysis of gene and protein expression in the limited
clinical samples from asthmatic airways, use of molecular and cellular
tools for studying cytokine expression and release, studies of
asthma-related genes and genetic polymorphisms, and understanding the -
fects of asthma treatments. With such coverage, the volume ties in
several dis- plines, including allergy and immunology, cell biology,
pharmacology, and histology. We have continued in the spirit of the
series to provide a bench book for day-to-day use.
