Inflammatory lung diseases are associated with bronchospasm, cough, dyspnea and airway hyperreactivity. The majority of these symptoms cannot be primarily explained by immune cell infiltration. Evidence has been provided that vagal efferent and afferent neurons play a pivotal role in this regard. Their functions can be altered by inflammatory mediators that induce long-lasting changes in vagal nerve activity and gene expression in both peripheral and central neurons, providing new targets for treatment of pulmonary inflammatory diseases.
Keywords: Allergic asthma; Central sensitization; Chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD); Nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS); Peripheral sensitization; Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1); Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1); Vagal ganglia.