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

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.

Keywords:

• T cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain
• inflammation
• galectin-9
• 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.