Immunology

Inflammation can be induced both by tissue damage and infection and the purpose of this physiological response is to repair damaged tissue and return it to normalcy. Inflammation is also a central component of both autoimmune disease and cancer. During such conditions, however, the inflammatory response is not properly regulated and the response becomes chronic and a component of disease. The “sterile” inflammation induced upon tissue injury has been shown to be due to be partially caused by the release of components from damaged and dying cells. These so-called DAMP (damage associated molecular patterns) molecules have been shown to be ligands of pro-inflammatory receptors such as TLRs and RAGE.