Multiscale Biomechanical Behaviors of Heterogeneous Airway Smooth Muscle Cells

Abstract

The lung is a complicated organ with dramatically different structures such as airways at different length scale, and thus forms a very complex and heterogeneous material. Embedded in the airway wall are airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) that typically respond to contractile stimuli with exaggerated shortening in asthma. To understand such complex system, a multiscale approach is needed to integrate experimental observations and theory. In this paper, we address some multiscale behaviors of the ASMCs, which may help to an improved understanding of the link between cellular pathophysiology and the whole lung response in both health and airway diseases such as asthma.