Prevention of Influenza Virus-Induced Immunopathology by TGF-β Produced during Allergic Asthma

Asthma is believed to be a risk factor for influenza infection,however little experimental evidence exists to directly demonstrate the impact of asthma on susceptibility to influenza infection. using a mouse model,we now report that asthmatic mice are actually significantly more resistant to a lethal influenza virus challenge. notably,the observed increased resistance was not attributable to enhanced viral clearance,but instead,was due to reduced lung inflammation. asthmatic mice exhibited a significantly reduced cytokine storm,as well as reduced total protein levels and cytotoxicity in the airways,indicators of decreased tissue injury. further,asthmatic mice had significantly increased levels of tgf-β1 and the heightened resistance of asthmatic mice was abrogated in the absence of tgf-β receptor ii. we conclude that a transient increase in tgf-β expression following acute asthma can induce protection against influenza-induced immunopathology. © 2015 furuya et al.