TY - JOUR T1 - Asthma-COPD overlap: current understanding and the utility of experimental models JF - European Respiratory Review JO - EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY REVIEW DO - 10.1183/16000617.0185-2019 VL - 30 IS - 159 SP - 190185 AU - Xiaofan Tu AU - Chantal Donovan AU - Richard Y. Kim AU - Peter A.B. Wark AU - Jay C. Horvat AU - Philip M. Hansbro Y1 - 2021/03/31 UR - http://err.ersjournals.com/content/30/159/190185.abstract N2 - Pathological features of both asthma and COPD coexist in some patients and this is termed asthma-COPD overlap (ACO). ACO is heterogeneous and patients exhibit various combinations of asthma and COPD features, making it difficult to characterise the underlying pathogenic mechanisms. There are no controlled studies that define effective therapies for ACO, which arises from the lack of international consensus on the definition and diagnostic criteria for ACO, as well as scant in vitro and in vivo data. There remain unmet needs for experimental models of ACO that accurately recapitulate the hallmark features of ACO in patients. The development and interrogation of such models will identify underlying disease-causing mechanisms, as well as enabling the identification of novel therapeutic targets and providing a platform for assessing new ACO therapies. Here, we review the current understanding of the clinical features of ACO and highlight the approaches that are best suited for developing representative experimental models of ACO.Understanding the pathogenesis of asthma-COPD overlap is critical for improving therapeutic approaches. We present current knowledge on asthma-COPD overlap and the requirements for developing an optimal animal model of disease. https://bit.ly/3lsjyvm ER -