Airway responsiveness to mannitol in asthma is associated with chymase-positive mast cells and eosinophilic airway inflammation.

Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) to inhaled mannitol is associated with indirect markers of mast cell activation and eosinophilic airway inflammation. It is unknown how AHR to mannitol relates to mast cell phenotype, mast cell function and measures of eosinophilic inflammation in airway tissue. We compared the number and phenotype of mast cells, mRNA expression of mast cell associated genes and number of eosinophils in airway tissue of subjects with asthma and healthy controls in relation to AHR to mannitol.