A new discovery about how the immune system responds to common sinus infections and asthma could explain why patients develop these issues in the first place and ultimately may lead to improved targeted therapies.
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have identified the source of the inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-25 (IL-25), an immune molecule that recruits a subset of inflammatory cells. Common respiratory disorders like chronic rhinosinusitis and asthma have recently been linked to elevated levels of IL-25, but the cellular source of it in the respiratory system was unknown until now.
The source of IL-25 is the solitary chemosensory cell (SCC), a highly-specialized type of cell similar to cells found in taste buds as well as cells in the gut.
