Asthma attacks reshape airway tissue through mechanical stress, lung-on-a-chip reveals

by Chris Kocher, Binghamton University

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About 25 million people in the U.S.—roughly eight out of 100—are diagnosed with asthma. Allergens, air pollution, extreme weather conditions and other irritants can cause chronic lung inflammation, leading to coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath.

One lesser-studied side effect: Asthma attacks induce mechanical forces that permanently alter airway tissue—damage that occurs independently of inflammation alone. New research led by Binghamton University used leading-edge lung-on-a-chip technology to show that the repeated mechanical stress from asthma attacks causes overproduction of proteins for the extracellular matrix that joins cells together. It also leads to the overgrowth of blood vessels, a condition known as angiogenesis.

Over time, both factors cause thickened airway tissue that constricts breathing.

For a paper published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, Assistant Professor Jungwook "Jay" Paek—a faculty member at the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering—collaborated with colleagues at Binghamton as well as the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Toledo and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The new paper continues postdoctoral research that Paek did at Penn with his adviser, Professor Dan Huh, before coming to Binghamton in 2023.

"This is the first time that anyone has demonstrated the effect of a mechanical process on tissue remodeling—including both fibrosis and angiogenesis—in asthma patients," he said.

Organ-on-a-chip uses microfabrication techniques borrowed from the semiconductor industry to reproduce conditions in the human body with just a small culture of cells.

For this study, the researchers built the microfluidic device so that the tissue could undergo structural deformation by pressurizing or evacuating a connecting chamber. As part of their observations, they tested the potential for medication delivery to modulate the cells' activity, laying the foundation for possible future asthma treatments.

"This technology is at the intersection of biological science, biomedical engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering," Paek said.

Binghamton doctoral student Anika Alim contributed to the research as part of Paek's project team. As an electrical engineering student, she had little experience with bioengineering principles or lab work, but she got up to speed quickly.

"I started to learn about organ-on-a-chip at a very basic level," she said. "Then I did a deep dive into how it can replicate human physiology. With this technology, we can see how our human body actually functions when asthma attacks happen."

She appreciates how the research expands her base of knowledge and experience, as well as Paek's mentorship through the research: "When I first started, he showed me everything himself—it was a very collaborative experience. I had no idea how to work with cells, but he was there at every step. I'm very grateful."

Paek's current research at Binghamton centers on Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases, including a study published earlier this year about how those conditions affect blood circulation and investigating how protein aggregates called Lewy bodies contribute to neurological breakdown.

"Focusing on how neurons are electrically active within the human body leans more toward electrical engineering principles based in biological science," he said.

Publication details

Jungwook Paek et al, Mechanical force-induced tissue remodelling in a clinically relevant microphysiological model of asthmatic human lungs, Nature Biomedical Engineering (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41551-026-01669-9

Journal information: Nature Biomedical Engineering

Key medical concepts

AsthmaAngiogenesisFibrosisExtracellular Matrix

Clinical categories

Pulmonary medicineAllergy and immunologyCommon illnesses & Prevention Provided by Binghamton University Who's behind this story?

Gaby Clark

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Citation: Asthma attacks reshape airway tissue through mechanical stress, lung-on-a-chip reveals (2026, June 15) retrieved 16 June 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-asthma-reshape-airway-tissue-mechanical.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.