Airway smooth muscle receptors.

Airway smooth muscle tone is influenced by many neurotransmitters, inflammatory mediators and drugs which interact direct or indirectly with specific surface receptors on smooth muscle cells. There have recently been important advances in our understanding of receptor mechanisms which may be relevant to understanding altered receptor function in airway inflammatory diseases. Neural control of airway tone is complex and several transmitters may be involved, including adrenoceptors, muscarinic receptors and receptors for various neuropeptides. Several inflammatory mediators, acting via specific receptors, may also influence airway smooth muscle. In the future molecular techniques which give information about the factors influencing receptor synthesis and post-translation processing will also provide further insights into understanding receptor function in airway disease.