CCL chemokines and asthma.

Airway eosinophilia is a characteristic of bronchial asthma. Eosinophils are considered to cause tissue damage through the release of toxic proteases, lipid mediators, cytokines and oxygen free radicals. The discovery of chemokines and the demonstration that some members of this cytokine superfamily are implicated in the recruitment of eosinophils offers an opportunity for a novel therapeutic approach in asthma.