Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/umls/id/C1512758
NCI: Inflammation is a protective response to infection by the immune system that requires communication between different classes of immune cells to coordinate their actions. Acute inflammation is an important part of the immune response, but chronic inappropriate inflammation can lead to destruction of tissues in autoimmune disorders and perhaps neurodegenerative or cardiovascular disease. Secreted cytokine proteins provide signals between immune cells to coordinate the inflammatory response. Some cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6, and TNF act to broadly provoke the inflammatory response while others act on specific types of immune cells. Macrophages and other phagocytotic cells provide a front-line defense against bacterial infection. Macrophages stimulate the inflammatory responses of neutrophils, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells in response to infection by secreting IL-1 and TNF. IL-1 and TNF cause fever through alteration of the body temperature set-point in the hypothalamus. Fibroblasts and endothelial ce