TABLE 1.

EXAMPLES OF PRO-ASTHMATIC GENES SYNERGISTICALLY INDUCED BY INTERFERONS AND OTHER CYTOKINES IN AIRWAY SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS AND THEIR POTENTIAL ROLE IN ASTHMA

Molecule	Relevance in Asthma	Mechanisms
Fractalkine	Airway inflammation	Chemoattractant for Mast cells, T cells, NK cells, and eosinophils
RANTES
CXCL10
COX-2		Secretion of inflammatory prostanoids and cytokines
TLR 2,3
CD38	Airway hyper-responsiveness	Modulation of GPCR-induced calcium signaling and contractility
NGF
GRβ	Steroid resistance	Impaired GRα activity

Definition of abbreviations: COX = cyclooxygenase; GPCR = G-protein coupled receptor; GRβ = glucocorticoid receptor beta isoform; NK = natural killer; RANTES = regulated on activation, normal T cells expressed and secreted; TLR = Toll-like receptor.