Bindi Brook: Airway remodelling in asthma and tissue destruction in emphysema

North West Seminar Series of Mathematical Biology and Data Science University of Manchester (Host: Carl Whitfield) Title: Airway remodelling in asthma and tissue destruction in emphysema - two sides of the same coin? Speaker: Prof Bindi Brook (University of Nottingham) Date: Mon 1st December 2025 Abstract: Inflammation, airway hyper-responsiveness (which causes constriction of the airways at lower trigger levels than in normal subjects) and airway remodelling (long term structural changes of the airway wall) are key features of asthma. While this is well-established, it is not clear how they are linked or whether they are causes or symptoms of the disease. In this talk I will describe a theoretical multiphase morphoelastic model of asthmatic airways, developed in parallel with an experimental study (aimed at addressing these questions) and present some illustrative results. The model accounts for interactions between biological processes and tissue mechanics allowing us to examine (i) the effect of remodelling on the mechanical properties of the airways, and (ii) how a simple mechanical feedback mechanism may enable homoeostasis to be maintained in healthy airways. Finally (time-permitting) I will briefly describe results of some preliminary models of parenchymal tissue destruction in emphysema, again linking biological processes with mechanical stress, but this time in a vertex-based spring network mimicking parenchymal tissue.