Rhinoviruses cause the common cold and exacerbations of asthma. Animal models of infection have identified a protective role for interleukin-18 (IL-18). Following experimental rhinovirus infection, we observed increased respiratory symptoms in healthy and asthmatic subjects with low nasal and bronchial IL-18 levels.
Keywords: asthma; inflammasome; interleukin-18; rhinovirus infection.
© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].