A Novel CD4

Infection with Pneumocystis, an opportunistic fungal pathogen, can result in fulminant pneumonia in the clinical setting of patients with immunosuppression. In murine models, Pneumocystis has previously been shown to induce a CD4 We sought to explore the role of Pneumocystis in generating asthma-like lung pathology, given the natural eosinophilic response to infection. Pneumocystis infection or antigen treatment was used to induce asthma-like pathology in wild-type mice. The roles of CD4 Pneumocystis infection generates a strong type II response in the lung that requires CD4 The present study demonstrates for the first time, to our knowledge, that Pneumocystis is an airway allergen capable of inducing asthma-like lung pathology.