PPARGC1A and asthma: In the context of the pathophysiology of asthma, a previous report showed that the up-regulation of PGC-1α in bronchial smooth muscle from asthmatic patients [32] and that non-immune immunoglobulin E (IgE) increased the PGC-1α mRNA and protein levels in primary human airway smooth muscle cells through the activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt pathway [33], suggesting their involvement in airway wall remodeling.