Viral infection in asthma.
In bronchial asthma, respiratory virus infection involves several issues: 1) respiratory virus infection in infancy is a risk factor for, and may predispose to, the development of asthma later in life; 2) respiratory virus infection is associated with the acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma; and, 3) glucocorticosteroids (GC) are not adequate for controlling asthma-related symptoms upon respiratory virus infection. Various cells, inflammatory mediators and cytokines participate in the production of airway inflammation upon respiratory virus infection. Bronchial epithelial cells are a site of infection and replication of respiratory virus. They actively participate in the production of airway inflammation: 1) they produce various proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines and mediators; and, 2) they undergo apoptosis, thereby impairing the repair process. It is therefore important to understand the role of bronchial epithelial cells in the pathophysiology of bronchial asthma. In this review, the interaction between viral infection and asthma is discussed to elucidate the role of bronchial epithelial cells in viral infection.
Hashimoto
Shu
S
Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. shuh@med.nihon-u.ac.jp
Matsumoto
Ken
K
Gon
Yasuhiro
Y
Ichiwata
Toshio
T
Takahashi
Noriaki
N
Kobayashi
Tomoko
T
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017209:Apoptosis; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D003588:Cytopathogenic Effect, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007223:Infant; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018113:Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human; D012307:Risk Factors; D015398:Signal Transduction
D016207:Cytokines; D005938:Glucocorticoids