The previous reports that levels of IFN-λ1 were elevated in the plasma of the patients with asthma [17] and that sputum IL-29 mRNA levels were higher in the steroid-treated asthmatic patients than in healthy controls [18] implicate that the cytokine is likely to contribute to the pathogenesis of allergic airway disorders. The gene discussed is IFNL1; the disease is asthma.