REVIEW article
Front. Allergy
Sec. Asthma
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/falgy.2025.1697194
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Role of Epithelial-Derived Cytokines in Airway DiseaseView all 3 articles
Promoting Immune Defensive Responses of Epithelial Cells in Airway Disease
Provisionally accepted
- EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals ehf., Reykjavik, Iceland
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The airway epithelium serves as both a physical barrier and as an active contributor in maintaining immune defense. Upon exposure to external insults such as injury and infection, the epithelium releases alarmins including interleukin-25 (IL-25), IL-33, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), which assist in initiating and amplifying the immune response. Complementing these are the collectins, particularly surfactant protein-D (SP-D), which also participate in the innate immune response. SP-D along with its closely related collectin, SP-A, bind pathogens, apoptotic cells, and allergens, promoting phagocytosis while modulating inflammation and preventing excessive Th2-driven responses. This review discusses the role of the airway epithelium in host defense mechanisms, particularly in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, and explores the therapeutic implications of epithelial-driven immune responses in respiratory inflammation.
Keywords: Collectins, SP-D, SP-A, Epithelium, Alarmins, Host defense, Respiratory
Received: 02 Sep 2025; Accepted: 13 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Parnham, Norris and Kricker. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jennifer Ann Kricker, jk@epiendo.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.