Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research
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Cytokine networks between immune and nonimmune cells of the alveolar-capillary membrane are necessary for cellular communication during pulmonary inflammation. The subsequent events of these cellular/humoral interactions are pivotal to the initiation and propagation of the inflammatory response leading to pulmonary injury. The studies cited in this paper underscore the interrelationship of early response cytokines, adhesion molecules, and the chemokine IL-8 that orchestrate the recruitment of neutrophils into the lung. ⋯ The participation of IL-8 and potentially other C-X-C chemokines in the inflammatory response appears to be critical for the orchestration of the directed migration of inflammatory leukocytes into the lung. After arriving in the lung, these activated leukocytes can respond to noxious stimuli or induce pulmonary injury through the release of reactive oxygen metabolites, proteolytic enzymes, and additional cytokines. Our current knowledge and future investigations regarding the mechanisms involved in neutrophil elicitation may allow us to employ clinical interventional strategies that will attenuate neutrophil-dependent acute lung injury, such as ARDS.