Immunomodulation in Acute Respiratory Conditions
Summary
Acute respiratory conditions, such as community-acquired pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), arise when the host immune response to pathogens or injury becomes dysregulated, leading to tissue damage, oedema and impaired gas exchange. Immunomodulation seeks to restore balance by dampening excessive inflammation or enhancing protective defence mechanisms. Strategies range from targeting innate immune sensors, such as Toll-like receptors, to modulating cytokine networks and cellular effectors, including neutrophils and monocytes. Beyond supportive ventilation and antimicrobial therapy, adjunctive approaches aim to attenuate harmful inflammation, preserve the pulmonary endothelial-epithelial barrier, and reduce mortality. Recent advances have focused on repurposing existing drugs—particularly certain antibiotics with pleiotropic effects—as immunomodulatory agents, as well as identifying host biomarkers to guide personalised interventions. A deeper understanding of the interplay between microbial products, immune signalling pathways and lung tissue repair offers promise for novel therapies that reconcile pathogen clearance with minimised collateral damage in acute respiratory disease.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Immunomodulation in Acute Respiratory Conditions publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in immunomodulation in acute respiratory conditions across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS): A life-threatening form of respiratory failure characterised by widespread inflammation, alveolar flooding and hypoxaemia.
Cytokine: A small protein released by immune cells that coordinates inflammation and intercellular communication.
NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells): A transcription factor central to the expression of pro-inflammatory genes.
Toll-like receptor (TLR): An innate immune receptor that recognises pathogen-associated molecular patterns and initiates inflammatory signalling.
Phosphodiesterase (PDE): An enzyme that degrades cAMP or cGMP, thereby regulating intracellular signalling involved in inflammation and vasomotor tone.
References
- Immunomodulatory Effects of Fluoroquinolones in Community-Acquired Pneumonia-Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Biomedicines (2024).
- Effect of intravenous clarithromycin in patients with sepsis, respiratory and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome: a randomized clinical trial. Critical Care (2022).
- Moxifloxacin modulates inflammation during murine pneumonia. Respiratory Research (2014).
- “Pleiotropic” Effects of Antibiotics: New Modulators in Human Diseases. Antibiotics (2024).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.