title: Association of interleukin-18 and asthma.
abstract: Cytokine-mediated immunity plays a dominant role in the pathogenesis of various immune diseases, including asthma. The recent identification of the family interleukin (IL)-1-related cytokine IL-18 now contributes to our understanding of the fine-tuning of cellular immunity. IL-18 can act as a cofactor for Th2 cell development and IgE production and also plays an important role in the differentiation of Th1 cells. Recent work identified an IL-18 association with the pathogenesis of asthma, wherein increased IL-18 expression was found in the serum of patients. Furthermore, IL-18 polymorphisms with susceptibility to asthma were reported, suggesting that IL-18 may be therapeutically relevant to asthma. In this review, we discuss the role of IL-18 in the pathogenesis of asthma and its therapeutic potential based on current research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The Third Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214041, China.
authors.forename: Ming-Hui
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The Third Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214041, China.
authors.forename: Feng-Lai
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The Third Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214041, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Jing
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The Third Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214041, China.
authors.forename: Hui-Ying
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The Third Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214041, China. lichengwan1965@163.com.
authors.forename: Cheng-Wan
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The Third Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214041, China. drtong@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tong
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D020382:Interleukin-18
keywords: Asthma; IL-18; Th1 cell; Th2 cell