Cytokines and infectious diseases

Abstract

Immune defense mechanisms or their dysregulation play a key role in the pathogenesis of disease caused by certain infectious organisms. Inflammatory cytokines mediate the disease manifestations of multiple infectious diseases. In the future, treatment of infectious diseases will include not only antibiotic agents, but also therapies directed attenuating components of the immune response responsible for tissue damage. This review describes the rationale and available clinical data for new therapies directed at attenuating the inflammatory cascade in these disorders.