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Inflammation — a lifelong companion

Attempt at a non-analytical holistic view

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Abstract

Inflammation is a key component of the immune system. It has important functions in both defense and pathophysiological events maintaining the dynamic homeostasis of a host organism including its tissues, organs and individual cells. On the cellular level it is controlled by more than 400 currently known genes. Their polymorphisms and environmental conditions give rise to different genotypes in human population. Pro-inflammatory genotype, which dominates in the present population, may be advantageous in childhood but not in elderly people because it is characterized by an increased vulnerability to, and intensity of, inflammatory reactions. These reactions may be the possible reasons of chronic inflammatory diseases, especially in old age. Better understanding of complex molecular and cellular inflammatory mechanisms is indispensable for detailed knowledge of pathogenesis of many diseases, their prevention and directed drug therapy. Here we summarize the basic current knowledge on these mechanisms.

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Abbreviations

βA:

β amyloid peptide

AD:

Alzheimer’s disease

APAF:

apoptosis-proteinase activating factor

ASC:

apoptotic-associatedspeck-like protein containing acaspase recruitment domain

BIR:

baculovirus inhibitor of apoptosis repeat

CIITA:

class II transactivator

CARD:

caspase-activating and recruitment domain

CATERPILLER (group):

CARD,transcriptionenhancer,R (purine)-binding,pyrin,lots ofleucinerepeat

COX-2:

cyclooxygenase-2

CRP:

C-reactive protein

DAMP:

damage-associated molecular patterns

DD:

death domain

ER:

endoplasmic reticulum

FMF:

familial Mediterranean fever

HDL:

high-density lipoprotein (level)

HIDS:

hyperimmunoglobulinemia D with periodic fever syndrome

HLA:

histocompatibility locus antigen (molecules)

HMGB:

high-mobility group box 1

Hsp:

heat shock protein

ICE:

enzyme converting IL-1

IFN:

interferon

Ig:

immunoglobulin

IL:

interleukin

IRAK:

IL-1receptor-associatedkinase

LDL:

low-density lipoprotein (level)

LPS:

lipopolysaccharide

LRR:

leucine-rich repeat

MALT:

mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue

MHC:

major histocompatibility complex

MR:

mannose receptor

NACHT (domain):

named after NAIP, CIITA, HET-E and TP1

NAIP:

neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein

NALP(s):

NACHT-, LRR- and PYD-containing protein(s)

NBD:

nucleotide binding domain

NF-κB:

nuclear factor κB

NLR:

nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat containing family

NOD:

nucleotide-oligomerization domain

PAMP:

pathogen-associated molecular pattern

PRR:

pattern-recognition receptor

PYD:

pyrin domain

R-genes:

host resistance genes

RIP:

receptor-interacting protein

SR-a:

scavenger receptor

TGF-β:

transforming growth factor β

TIR:

Toll-interleukin-1receptor

TLR:

Toll-like receptor

TNF:

tumor necrosis factor

TP1:

telomerase-associated protein

TRAPS:

TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome

TREM-1:

triggeringreceptorexpressed onmyeloid cells

TRIF:

TIR domain containing adaptor interacting with TLR(s)

VALT:

vascular-associated lymphoid tissue

WD-40 repeat:

Trp-Asp forty-amino-acid repeat

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, 811 08, Bratislava, Slovakia

    M. Ferenčík, V. Štvrtinová & I. Hulín

  2. Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 845 10, Bratislava, Slovakia

    M. Ferenčík & M. Novák

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  1. M. Ferenčík
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  2. V. Štvrtinová
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  3. I. Hulín
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  4. M. Novák
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Correspondence to M. Ferenčík.

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This work was partially supported by theSlovak Grant Agency (grant VEGA no. 2/5101/26), and theEuropean Science Foundation (project ESF 131 202 00026).

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Ferenčík, M., Štvrtinová, V., Hulín, I. et al. Inflammation — a lifelong companion. Folia Microbiol 52, 159–173 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02932155

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