KININ B₁ RECEPTOR AS A BIOMARKER OF AIRWAY INFLAMMATION RELATED TO SMOKE EXPOSURE

摘要

The invention relates to a method of determining whether a test substance causes airway cell inflammation comprising: contacting the test substance with a sample comprising an airway cell expressing bradykinin B1 receptor (B₁R); and determining whether the expression level of B₁R in the cell increases significantly in the presence of the substance, thereby indicating that the substance causes inflammation. The significance of the increase of B₁R expression is typically based on comparison to B₁R level in the cell prior to the exposure to the substance.