https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Index ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:48016 To the Editor: The major 17q12-21 asthma susceptibility and exacerbation locus1 has been identified as the only genetic locus that is also reproducibly associated with total white blood cell count.2 However, it is not known whether there is a common gene within this locus that links these phenotypic traits. The colony-stimulating factor-3 (CSF3) gene, alternatively known as G-CSF, resides within this locus. CSF3 binds exclusively to CSF3 receptor (CSF3R, or CD114/G-CSFR), which is highly expressed on mature neutrophils and to a lesser extent on mononuclear cells, platelets, and lung interstitial stromal cells. Although CSF3R/CD114 signaling can dictate the intensity of the host defense inflammatory response during bacterial infection by regulating neutrophil granulopoiesis and trafficking, its role in the infection-dependent transition to persistent, severe asthma has not been investigated. Neonatal colonization of the nasopharynx by potentially pathogenic bacteria including Streptococcus pneumoniae is also a risk factor for asthma development.3 The Childhood Asthma Study found that children with atopy and chronic wheeze at age 5 years were twice as likely to have been colonized with S pneumoniae as neonates.4 The authors suggest that transient incursions of nasopharyngeal bacteria into the lower airways triggered by a fever-causing viral respiratory infection (respiratory syncytial virus or influenza virus) increases the risk of developing persistent asthma in atopic children. However, a plausible mechanism linking these cofactors is yet to be identified. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that CSF3-CSF3R signaling dictates the severity of infectiondependent asthma at a cellular and molecular level.]]> Wed 15 Feb 2023 10:19:59 AEDT ]]> https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:55876 Wed 03 Jul 2024 14:09:42 AEST ]]> https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:55872 Wed 03 Jul 2024 13:34:45 AEST ]]> https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:54362 Tue 20 Feb 2024 16:27:15 AEDT ]]> https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:47883 Fri 03 Feb 2023 16:00:04 AEDT ]]>