The role of T-cells and their cytokines in asthma

Bronchial asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airways in which T-lymphocytes play a pivotal role. Increasingly, subtypes of asthma are being described, both functionally and on genetic grounds, suggesting different pathophysiological mechanisms that dictate both the clinical phenotype and its natural history. Diversity of T-cell responses (the "seed") within the context of an altered airway microenvironment (the "soil") provides the basis for chronic inflammation that interacts with a remodeled airway to create the characteristic intermittent airway obstruction and bronchial hyperresponsiveness.