title: The potential role of interleukin-17 in severe asthma.
abstract: Asthma has long been characterized as a disease of dysregulated T-helper type 2 immune responses to environmental allergens. Clinical studies suggest that asthma is a heterogeneous disorder with distinct types of inflammatory processes. Accumulating evidence suggests that aberrant interleukin (IL)-17 production is a key determinant of severe forms of asthma. However, the identity of IL-17-producing cells and the factors regulating IL-17 production during the course of allergic inflammation remain elusive. In this review, we summarize the potential IL-17-producing cells and their involvement in the inflammatory responses that mediate distinct features of asthma. The role of proinflammatory cytokines and the complement pathway in regulating the generation of IL-17-producing T cells is also discussed. Understanding the biology of IL-17 in the context of allergic inflammation may be informative in the development of novel approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of asthma.
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy and Immunology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. yui_hsi.wang@cchmc.org
authors.forename: Yui-Hsi
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Marsha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wills-Karp
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D003167:Complement Activation / Q000276:immunology*; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D020381:Interleukin-17; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D020381:Interleukin-17; D003165:Complement System Proteins