Corticosteroids are powerful anti-inflammatory drugs that alter the transcription of many genes. Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory drugs that are used to treat individuals with allergies, asthma,...

Corticosteroids are powerful anti-inflammatory drugs that alter the transcription of many genes.  Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory drugs that are used to treat individuals with allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases, or organ transplants. These compounds have a wide range of effects on leukocytes and on inflammatory cytokine production. One common use for corticosteroids is as an inhaled treatment for individuals with asthma. Interestingly, inhaled corticosteroids provide significant benefit to asthma patients with high numbers of eosinophils in their airways, but not to those patients with high numbers of neutrophils, but normal numbers of eosinophils. One reason for this finding may be that:

1. Corticosteroids don’t inhibit IL-13 production in the airways


2. Corticosteroids don’t inhibit release of IL-33 by airway epithelial cells


3. Corticosteroids induce apoptosis of T_reg
   cells


4. Corticosteroids induce apoptosis of eosinophils


5. Corticosteroids don’t work well as combination therapy with other immunosuppressants