Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
new data regarding an important link between NF-
κ
B activation and the ability of
inflammation to promote oncogenesis.
8.1.1 P
ROCESS
OF
I
NFLAMMATION
Inflammation is a generally beneficial response to infection or to tissue injury that
results in the restoration of homeostasis and repair, at both the cellular and tissue
levels, and requires both innate and adaptive immune responses (see
Chapters 6
and
7
). It is clear that unresolved inflammation is the underlying cause of the
pathogenesis of a variety of diseases such as arthritis, asthma, inflammatory bowel
disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Inflammation is characterized by increased blood flow to the affected tissue,
which then increases temperature, swelling, redness, and pain — calor, tumor, rubor,
and dolor, as described by Celsus in the first century
A
.
D
. Numerous cells are involved
in the inflammatory process, including mast cells, monocytes/macrophages, eosino-
phils, neutrophils, dendritic cells, and B and T cells. These inflammatory cells are
essential to the promotion as well as the resolution phases of the inflammatory
response. For example, resident mast cells (Figure 8.1) appear to be key players in
the initiation of inflammation through their ability to bind pathogen-associated
molecules such as bacterial lipopolysaccaride (LPS) through toll-like receptors
(TLRs) [1]. Once activated by recognition of foreign molecules, mast cells release
potent mediators of the inflammatory response, including cytokines such as tumor
FIGURE 8.1
Mast cells are involved in the initiation of inflammation through an innate
immune response.
