Mediators of Inflammation

Inflammation is a physiologic response against noxious stimuli and microbial invaders. The basic elements of inflammation include host cells, blood vessels, proteins and lipid mediators, which work together to eliminate the inflammatory stimulus as well as initiate the resolution and repair. Mediators of inflammation are regulatory molecules that control the generation, maintenance and resolution of this response, which is triggered after recognition of infection or injure. The initial recognition of the inflammatory stimuli leads to the production of pro-inflammatory mediators. These mediators are derived from immune cells (e.g. vasoactive amines, lipid mediators, platelet-activating factor, reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide, cytokines and chemokines) or are acute phase proteins produced by the liver that circulate in the plasma (e.g. the complement, coagulation and kallikrein-kinin systems). Together, the mediators of inflammation orchestrate all the inflammatory events such as blood vessel dilatation, vascular permeability, leukocyte migration to the affected tissue and pain.