Is the neutrophil the key effector cell in severe asthma?

The plasticity of the airway neutrophilia is further supported by experimental data obtained using an equine model of asthma where complete resolution of the neutrophilic airway response occurred over a matter of a few days following removal of the mouldy hay challenge. 32 In this model the alveolar macrophages appeared to make a significant contribution to the clearance of apoptotic neutrophil corpses from within the airway lumen. [...]if neutrophils do not reside within the asthmatic airways for protracted periods due to the presence of efficient natural clearance mechanisms, strategies designed to block influx-which presumably occurs at the post capillary venule level within the bronchial circulation-may be highly efficacious.