Chronic inflammation of Kawasaki disease

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute multisystem vasculitis syndrome of unknown etiology occurring mainly in infants and children less than 5 years of age. In developed countries, it is a leading cause of acquired heart disease in children. However, KD remains a mysterious disease. Some infectious pathogens that may be responsible for this condition have been isolated. Recent studies have revealed several novel susceptibility loci for KD. We here summarize the different aspects of KD and provide recent findings on the underlying immunological, inflammatory, and genetic characteristics of this disease. Updates on the associated immune response, including T helper (Th) 1, Th2, regulatory T, and Th17 are included in this chapter.