Furthermore, dexamethasone alone increased PVT1 expression in ASMCs from patients with severe asthma (approximately 4-fold, P < .001), and when these cells were subsequently stimulated with FCS plus TGF-β, an even greater increase in expression was observed (approximately 8-fold, P < .001; Fig 2, B). This evidence concerns the gene TGFB1 and asthma.