Neutrophils and acute lung injury

Abstract

The accumulation of activated neutrophils in the lungs is an early step in the pulmonary inflammatory process that leads to ALI. Although experimental models indicate that the activation of p38, Akt, and nuclear factor-kappaB in neutrophils contributes to ALI, the relative importance of these pathways in critically ill patients remains to be determined. Nevertheless, modulation of the activation of p38, Akt, and nuclear factor-kappaB in neutrophils appears to be an appropriate therapeutic target in severely ill patients with ALI.