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Updated: Apr 23, 2026

Infection of Primary Nasal Epithelial Cells Grown at an Air-Liquid Interface to Characterize Human Coronavirus-Host Interactions
Published on: September 22, 2023
Viral infections and asthma: an inflammatory interface?
Brian G G Oliver1, Paul Robinson2, Mathew Peters3
1School of Medical and Molecular Biosciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia brian.oliver@uts.edu.au.
Abstract:
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways in which the majority of patients respond to treatment with corticosteroids and β₂-adrenoceptor agonists. Acute exacerbations of asthma substantially contribute to disease morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs, and are not restricted to patients who are not compliant with their treatment regimens. Given that respiratory viral infections are the principal cause of asthma exacerbations, this review article will explore the relationship between viral infections and asthma, and will put forward hypotheses as to why virus-induced exacerbations occur. Potential mechanisms that may explain why current therapeutics do not fully inhibit virus-induced exacerbations, for example, β₂-adrenergic desensitisation and corticosteroid insensitivity, are explored, as well as which aspects of virus-induced inflammation are likely to be attenuated by current therapy.
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