Asthma is a heterogeneous chronic respiratory disease characterized by an increased burden of infections. Respiratory tract infections associated with an increased risk for asthma especially when occurring in the first months of life, also represent the most common cause of asthma exacerbations. The association between asthma and the increased frequency of infections and microbiota dysbiosis might be explained by a common mechanism, such as an underlying immune system defect. Apart from the well-established association between primary immunodeficiencies and asthma, several alterations in the immune response following infection have also been observed in asthmatic patients. An impairment in lung epithelial barrier integrity exists and is associated with both an increased susceptibility to infections and the development of asthma. Asthmatic patients are also found to have a deficient interferon (IFN) response upon infection. Additionally, defects in Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling are observed in asthma and are correlated with both recurrent infections and asthma development. In this review, we summarize the common pathophysiological background of asthma and infections, highlighting the importance of an underlying immune system defect that predispose individuals to recurrent infections and asthma.

哮喘是一种异质性慢性呼吸系统疾病，其特征在于感染负担增加。与哮喘风险增加相关的呼吸道感染，尤其是在生命的头几个月发生时，也代表了哮喘加重的最常见原因。哮喘与感染和微生物群菌感染增加的频率之间的关联可能由常见机制解释，例如潜在的免疫系统缺陷。除了已建立的原发性免疫缺陷和哮喘之间的关联性外，在哮喘患者中还观察到了感染后免疫反应的一些改变。存在肺上皮屏障完整性的损害，并且与对感染的易感性增加和哮喘的发展有关。哮喘患者也被发现感染后干扰素（IFN）反应不足。此外，在哮喘中观察到Toll样受体（TLR）信号传导缺陷，并且与复发感染和哮喘发展相关。在这篇综述中，我们总结了哮喘和感染的常见病理生理背景，强调了潜在的免疫系统缺陷的重要性，该缺陷使个体容易复发感染和哮喘。