Interleukin-16 in asthma

Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that is characterized by lymphocyte, eosinophil, and mast cell infiltration of the submucosa along with mucous gland hyperplasia and subepithelial fibrosis. The inflammatory response in asthma is tightly associated with airway hyperresponsiveness （AHR） to antigen-specific and nonspecific stimuli. Central to the process of airway inflammation in asthma is the T lymphocyte. Thus, T-cell recruitment and differentiation are critical elements in the evolution of the asthmatic state. Besides adhesion molecules such as selectins and integrins, chemokines are thought to be involved in the multi-step process of extravasation by the triggering of integrins and chemotactic attraction of cell subsets. The diversity of chemokines that potentially attract different cell populations makes them interesting candidates for the regulation of effector cell recruitment. Indeed, chemokines especially are inducible and up-regulated in inflammatory lesions,

Interleukin-16 in asthma