Immune cell implicated in development of lung disease following viral infection

(Washington University School of Medicine) Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have implicated a type of immune cell in the development of chronic lung disease that sometimes is triggered following a respiratory viral infection. The evidence suggests that activation of this immune cell serves as an early switch that, when activated, drives progressive lung diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).