Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2005-8-9
pubmed:abstractText
Despite advances in antibiotic therapy, bacterial pneumonia remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Pulmonary host defense has both an innate component, consisting of nonspecific antimicrobial factors, as well as an acquired component, which is pathogen-specific. Defects in either arm of the immune system can have a profound impact on the other because these are highly interactive systems. From the upper airway to the respiratory alveolus, defense mechanisms are in place to maintain sterility of the lower respiratory tract. These features include anatomical barriers, nonspecific antimicrobial peptides, the mucociliary escalator, and the airway lining fluid. In the airspaces, the alveolar macrophage is the cell responsible for early pathogen clearance and subsequent initiation of the acute inflammatory response. Neutrophil recruitment and acquired immune responses are dependent on cytokine secretion by these resident tissue phagocytes. This article reviews the salient features of innate and acquired immunity against bacterial pathogens and how host factors (such as alcoholism) undermine these antibacterial defenses.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:status
PubMed-not-MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
1069-3424
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
25
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
43-52
pubmed:year
2004
pubmed:articleTitle
Host defense and bacterial pneumonia.
pubmed:affiliation
Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article