Novel therapeutic approaches to modulate inflammation

Inflammation can be caused by various insults such as microbial infection and tissue injury, and is a protective response of the body to ensure removal of detrimental stimuli and to stimulate the repair of damaged tissues [1]. Inflammation is, however, also a major pathophysiological factor in several illnesses such as sepsis, renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, and cancer. It is generally thought that a controlled inflammatory response is beneficial (for example, in providing protection against infection), but that it becomes detrimental if dysregulated (for example, in septic shock). Therefore, restoring proper control of inflammatory reactions may be of benefit in pathological inflammatory conditions. Although many experimental anti-inflammatory approaches have been developed and tested, most of these have not led to successful clinical application. Therefore, there is still an urgent need for novel approaches to better control inflammation in severe clinical conditions. This thesis describes the immunomodulatory effects of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)-related oligopeptides, dexamethasone, and dietary restriction in animal models of sepsis, renal I/R injury, and cancer metastases, in which inflammation is a central pathophysiological component.

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