Mucosal sites, such as the lung, serve as crucial, yet vulnerable barriers to environmental insults such as pathogens, allergens, and toxins. Often, these exposures induce massive infiltration and death of short-lived immune cells in the lung, and efficient clearance of these cells is important for preventing hyperinflammation and resolving immunopathology. Herein, we review recent advances in our understanding of efferocytosis, a process whereby phagocytes clear dead cells in a noninflammatory manner. We further discuss how efferocytosis impacts the onset and severity of asthma in humans and mammalian animal models of disease. Finally, we explore how recently identified genetic perturbations or biological pathway modulations affect pathogenesis and shed light on novel therapies aimed at treating or preventing asthma.

肺等粘膜部位是抵御病原体、过敏原和毒素等环境侵害的重要但脆弱的屏障。通常，这些暴露会导致肺部短命免疫细胞大量浸润和死亡，有效清除这些细胞对于预防过度炎症和解决免疫病理学问题很重要。在此，我们回顾了我们对胞吞作用的理解的最新进展，这是一种吞噬细胞以非炎症方式清除死细胞的过程。我们进一步讨论了胞吐作用如何影响人类和哺乳动物疾病模型中哮喘的发作和严重程度。最后，我们探讨了最近发现的遗传扰动或生物通路调节如何影响发病机制，并阐明了旨在治疗或预防哮喘的新疗法。