title: Overview of asthma; the place of the T cell.
abstract: Asthma is an inflammatory disease which is associated with activated T cells in the airway wall. The contribution of the T lymphocyte to inflammation in asthma has been extensively studied through descriptions of T cell subsets in the airway wall of asthmatic patients and from animal and cellular models. Allergy-driven airway disease is mediated primarily by the T helper (Th)2 cell subset. Other subsets, such as Th1, Th17, invariant natural killer T and CD8+ T cells likely contribute to the development, and possibly the progression of established disease. Resolution of inflammation is controlled in part by regulatory T cells. Therapies directed at T cells and their cytokines have been disappointing in asthma despite, in some instances, promising results on allergen challenge. This suggests that the induction of asthma may be T-cell-mediated and allergen-triggered, whereas disease may be sustained and exacerbated by other mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Meakins-Christie Laboratories, Department of Medicine, McGill University, 3626 St. Urbain, Montreal, Quebec H2X 2P2, Canada.
authors.forename: Karim H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Shalaby
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens