“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”: Interplay of Innate Immunity and Inflammation

ALEMAN MECEDES

CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY (PRINT)

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2022 vol. 2022 p. 1 - 11

1462-5814

Innate immunity recognizes microorganisms through certain invariant receptors named Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) by sensing conserved Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs). Their recognition activates several signaling pathways that lead the transcription of inflammatory mediators, contributing to trigger a very rapid inflammatory cascade aiming to contain the local infection as well as activating and instructing the adaptive immunity in a specific and synchronized immune response according to the microorganism. Inflammation is a coordinated process induced by microbial infection that could be caused by tissue injury, which initiates with the secretion of cytokines and chemokines by macrophages and neutrophils and triggers the migration of other leukocytes by rolling along the endothelium toward the injured tissue. Sustained inflammatory responses can cause deleterious effects by promoting the development of autoimmune disorders, allergies, cancer, and other immune pathologies, while weak or ineffective signals could exacerbate the severity of the disease. Therefore, PRR-mediated signal transduction must be tightly regulated to maintain host immune homeostasis. Innate immunity deficiencies and strategies deployed by microbes to avoid inflammatory responses lead to an altered immune reaction that allows the pathogen to proliferate causing death or triggering uncontrolled inflammation. This review discusses the complexity of the immune response at the onset of the disease and the importance to unraveling its mechanisms in order to be considered when treating diseases and designing vaccines.