After the discovery of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), innate immune mechanisms came back in the focus of scientific research. With more and more mechanisms of TLR biology known, it has become clear that these and also other innate immune receptors are not only of crucial importance in the immune response to invading pathogens, but also play a role in the homeostasis of commensal flora and in the r...

It is now widely accepted that chronic airway inflammation plays a key role in asthma [1]. This fundamental feature has been included in the most recent definitions of the disease: hence the Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention reports that "asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways in which many cell types play a role, in particular mast cells, eosinophils and T-l...