Occasional review
Immune mechanisms of childhood asthma
Carolyn E Donovan, Patricia W Finn
Division of
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital,
Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
Correspondence to: Dr Finn.
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
 |
Introduction |
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Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood in
developed countries.1 Recent studies suggest that most
asthmatics are diagnosed by the age of five, with symptoms first
occurring during infancy and early childhood.2 3 Allergy
is known to play a significant role in childhood
asthma.4-6 The prevalence of allergic diseases including
asthma has increased significantly over the past 40 years.7 8 The reasons for this increase are not known but
are under active investigation. Understanding the pathogenesis of
childhood asthma may lead to the development of novel therapies or even
to preventive strategies. Little is known about the cellular and
molecular mechanisms underlying this disorder. T cells are critical for
the initiation and maintenance of the mature asthmatic inflammatory
response. Complex interactions between T and B lymphocytes and antigen
presenting cells (APC) lead to inflammation, cytokine production, IgE
production, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). T cell
differentiation which will lead to expression of
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