Potential of helper-dependent adenoviral vectors in modulating airway innate immunity

Innate immune responses form the first line of defense against foreign insults and recently significant advances have been made in our understanding of the initiation of innate immune response along with its ability to modulate inflammation. In airway diseases such as asthma, COPD and cystic fibrosis, over reacting of the airway innate immune responses leads to cytokine imbalance and airway remodeling or damage. Helper-dependent adenoviral vectors have the potential to deliver genes to modulate airway innate immune responses and have many advantages over its predecessors. However, there still are a few limitations that need to be addressed prior to their use in clinical applications.