An overview of inflammation: pathways & gene therapy

Abstract

When the immune system encounters harmful stimuli such as pathogens, harmed cells, toxins, or radiation, inflammation results, and it serves the twin purposes of removing the stimuli and kicking off the healing process. Inflammatory signal transduction, most commonly the NF-kB, MAPK, and JAK-STAT pathways are triggered by inflammatory stimuli, including infectious and non-infectious ones as well as cell damage. The activation of inflammatory pathways, the production of inflammatory markers, and the attraction of inflammatory cells to the region occur when cell surface pattern receptors detect harmful stimuli. The severity of the inflammatory response is crucial because autoimmunity, excessive tissue damage, and chronic inflammation such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, asthma, etc result from acute inflammation that is unable to control pro-inflammatory stimuli. Any flaw in the inflammatory reaction could shorten life expectancy and induce morbidity. An alternative strategy would involve using transgenes to deliver various therapeutic genes, inflammatory cytokine inhibitors, and other therapeutic medicines locally to the inflammation site. Several viral and non-viral vectors are being used in experimental pharmacology. With an emphasis on gene therapy for diverse inflammatory illnesses, we have explored inflammatory pathways in this article.