TGFB1 and chronic asthma: Available evidence suggests that stimulating BEAS-2B cell line or primary human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells with TGF-β1 significantly increases TNC mRNA levels in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that TGF-β1, an important cytokine in the development of asthma, may induce TNC expression to contribute to the development of chronic asthma [162].