ABSTRACT
Inammation begins with the activation and recruitment of immune effector cells and the secretion of cytokines, which are essential for the host defense system. In this chapter, the cellular mechanisms of cytokine activation will be reviewed. As discussed further in later chapters, chronic inammation persists even after elimination of pathogen(s). Chronic low-grade inammation has been associated with cancer [1,2], inammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis [3,4], atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis [5], asthma, and Alzheimer’s disease [6]. The damaging responses secondary to chronic inammation in different organ systems reviewed throughout this chapter are mediated by cytokines activated through similar molecular mechanisms within the immune system, in adipocytes, and in other specialized cells. Cytokine regulation and dysregulation play a signicant role in the pathogenesis of various chronic inammatory diseases [7,8], and understanding the molecular basis of cytokine activation is critical to knowing about the role of nutrients and phytochemicals in immune function presented throughout this chapter.
