Resolving lung injury: a new role for Tregs in controlling the innate immune response

Inflammation-associated lung injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality for patients in intensive care units. Although the cellular and molecular events that initiate lung inflammation are now well understood, the mechanisms that promote its resolution remain poorly defined. In this issue of the JCI, D'Alessio et al. show in a mouse model that recovery from acute lung injury is not simply a passive process, but involves Tregs in an active resolution program (see the related article beginning on page 2898).
Overview of lung injury Acute lung injury (ALI) is a syndrome defined by bilateral pulmonary infiltrates on chest radiography and arterial hypoxemia in the absence of left atrial hypertension. This [...]