Effect of Benralizumab on Airway Remodeling in Asthma

Sixty subjects will be recruited: 20 patients with severe asthma patients, 20 patients with non-severe asthma and 20 non-asthmatic controls. Inclusion visit will include written informed consent, asthma questionnaire, clinical examination, lung function testing, prick tests and assessment of airway remodeling using CT scan and MRI. Bronchial specimens from all subjects will be obtained by fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Airway remodeling will be evaluated by morphological analysis. After BSM cell culture, BSM cells function will be assessed in vitro in the absence or presence of benralizumab using proliferation (BrdU) and chemotactism experiments, ELISA, RT-PCR (polymerase chain reaction ) and electronic microscopy.