Author(s)

Kamleshun Ramphul

Department of Pediatrics, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways manifested by reversible airflow obstruction and airway hyperresponsiveness. While recent research has mapped several genes as possible factors predisposing to asthma, interleukin-13 remains one of the most commonly found genes in various populations. IL-13 is a pleiotropic TH2 cytokine which has been linked to cause an increase in goblet cell differentiation, activation of fibroblasts, elevation of bronchial hyperresponsiveness and switching of B cell antibody from IgM to IgE. The aim of this review is to study and identify the three main single-nucleotide polymorphisms of IL-13 (IL13 R130Q, IL-13Rα1 and IL-13 A2044G) that have been linked to asthma in children, and to understand their respective roles in the pathogenesis of this disease.

Asthma, Interleukin 13, Children

Ramphul, K. (2014) Identifying the Roles of Interleukin-13 in Childhood Asthma. Open Access Library Journal, 1, 1-5. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1100468.