Abstract:

In this article，we summarize the roles of pulmonary neuroendocrine cells（PNECs）and type 2 innate lymphoid cells（ILC2s）in bronchial asthma，by understanding the structural and functional characteristics of PNEC and ILC2. PNECs are specifically differentiated airway epithelial cells innervated by nerves. In recent years， increasing experimental evidence has shown that PNEC is in contact with sensory nerve fibers，and carries membrane receptors sensitive to various stimuli such as hypoxia and nicotine. PNECs can synthesize，storage and release of a variety of peptide hormones and other bioactive substances. These bioactive substances can directly or indirectly affect the physiological function of lung tissue and activate the downstream ILC2s，which further magnates the lung Th2 immune inflammation in asthma. In this paper，we clarified the possible regulatory role of PNEC⁃ILC2 neuroim⁃ mune pathway in asthma. Traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）is effective in the treatment of asthma，and TCM is mostly carried out from multiple components and multiple targets. Whether TCM plays a role in regulating the PNEC⁃ ILC2 neuroimmune module pathway is still unclear. This article attempts to provide new ideas for clinical treatment of asthma，especially psychological stress asthma，based on the relationship between PNEC⁃ILC2 and asthma and TCM.

Key words:

PNEC, ILC2, neuro?immune pathway, bronchial asthma