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Review

The role of TIM-containing molecules in airway disease and their potential as therapeutic targets

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Pages 77-87 | Published online: 14 Aug 2012
 

Abstract

T cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain (TIM)-containing molecules have emerged as promising therapeutic targets to correct abnormal immune function in several autoimmune and chronic inflammatory conditions. Despite the initial discovery linking TIM-containing molecules and the airway hyperreactivity regulatory locus in mice, there is a paucity of studies on the function of TIM-containing molecules in lung inflammatory disease. Initially, studies were limited to mice models of asthma. More recently however, TIM-containing molecules have been implicated in an ever-expanding list of airway conditions that includes pneumonia, tuberculosis, influenza, sarcoidosis, lung cancer, and cystic fibrosis. This present review discusses the role of TIM-containing molecules and their ligands in the lung, as well as their potential as therapeutic targets in airway disease.

Acknowledgments

Preparation of this article was supported by grants from the Health Research Board Ireland (grant number PHD/2007/11) and the Program for Research in Third Level Institutes (PRTLI) administered by the Higher Education Authority.

Disclosure

None of the authors has a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of the presented manuscript.