Pulmonary and systemic immune cells via cell–cell and cytokine-mediated interactions

Pulmonary and systemic immune cells via cell–cell and cytokine-mediated interactions refers to the integrated immune response involving local lung-resident cells (e.g., alveolar macrophages) and systemic immune components (e.g., circulating neutrophils and T-lymphocytes). This interaction is fundamental to host defense against respiratory pathogens but can drive severe pathology when overactivated, as seen in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and severe viral infections like COVID-19 (PubMed: 32665121). The communication is facilitated by direct physical contact between cells and the release of soluble mediators such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) (NIH: PMC7151430). In pathological states, this crosstalk can lead to a "cytokine storm" and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), potentially resulting in multi-organ failure (StatPearls: NBK559036). Because this term encompasses an entire physiological system and multiple signaling pathways, it is classified as a biological process or disease mechanism rather than a single therapeutic target. Drugs such as Tocilizumab or Baricitinib are used to target specific nodes within this network to modulate the overall immune response and prevent systemic hyperinflammation (PubMed: 33515655).

Other names

Pulmonary-systemic immune crosstalkLung-systemic immune axisCytokine-mediated immune cell communicationPulmonary-systemic inflammatory network

Inhibition of specific cytokine receptors (e.g., IL-6R) or intracellular signaling pathways (e.g., JAK/STAT) to disrupt the feed-forward loop of pulmonary and systemic inflammation.