Inflammation: a matter of immune cell life and death

Inflammation is triggered by an insult or injury to the cells of the body and is a healthy and productive step towards healing. Persistent inflammation, however, is a dysregulated response and can lead to a host of unwanted disease states. The death of cells by necrosis is known to initiate inflammation, while the programmed death of cells by apoptosis limits the inflammatory response. We propose here that there exists a spectrum of cell living, aging, dying, and death states that have differential effects on inflammatory disease.