HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Permissions Request Permissions Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (3) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Burgel, P-R. Articles by Nadel, J. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Burgel, P-R. Articles by Nadel, J. A.

Epidermal growth factor receptor-mediated innate immune responses and their roles in airway diseases

¹ Service de Pneumologie and UPRES EA 2511, Université Paris Descartes, Hôpital Cochin, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France, ² Cardiovascular Research Institute and Depts of Medicine and Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.

CORRESPONDENCE: J. A. Nadel, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Box 0130, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0130, USA. Fax: 1 4154768391. E-mail: jay.nadel{at}ucsf.edu

Keywords: Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, interleukin-8, mucins, neutrophils

Received: December 19, 2007
Accepted April 2, 2008

Inhaled air is contaminated with pathogens and particulates that may deposit in the airways and damage the host. In response to these invaders, the airway epithelium has developed innate immune responses that provide a defence against the invaders and protect the airway structure and function. Thus, the epithelium of conducting airways becomes the "battleground" between the invaders and the host.

Recent evidence suggests that airway epithelial surface signalling through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a convergent pathway producing innate immune responses to a variety of infectious and noninfectious noxious stimuli. In the present review, the EGFR signalling pathways leading to airway mucin production, neutrophil recruitment (via interleukin-8 production) and airway epithelial repair were examined.

The importance of these findings in human airway diseases was also investigated. The current authors suggest that the exaggerated innate immune responses found in chronic inflammatory airway diseases (e.g. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis and severe asthma) contribute to the pathogenesis or the aggravation of these diseases. Potential therapies include inhibition of the various elements of the described epidermal growth factor receptor cascade. In considering each therapeutic intervention, the potential benefits must be considered in relation to potential deleterious effects.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Berasain, M. J. Perugorria, M. U. Latasa, J. Castillo, S. Goni, M. Santamaria, J. Prieto, and M. A. Avila The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor: A Link Between Inflammation and Liver Cancer Experimental Biology and Medicine, July 1, 2009; 234(7): 713 - 725. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]