MUC5B and asthma: In the allergic airway, the composition and functional properties of the mucus layer are substantially altered by IL-13, which promotes transcriptional pathways leading to goblet cell expansion, shifts in the production of gel-forming mucins from MUC5B to the more pathologic MUC5AC (32), and alterations in antimicrobial peptides and ion transporters (4), resulting in the airflow obstruction and airway mucus plugging that are prominent features of T2-high asthma (33).