Asthma is a chronic relapsing airways disease that represents a major public health problem worldwide. Intermittent exacerbations are provoked by airway mucosal exposure to pro-inflammatory stimuli, with RNA viral infections or inhaled allergens representing the two most common precipitants. In this setting, inducible signaling pathways the airway mucosa play a central role in the initiation of airway inflammation through production of antimicrobial peptides (defensins), cytokines, chemokines and arachidonic acid metabolites that coordinate the complex processes of vascular permeability,...