Abstract
Inflammatory injury in the lung or dermis occurring after systemic activation of complement or after local deposition of immune complexes is related to local activation of tissue macrophages and/or recruitment of blood neutrophils. While requirements for cytokines (IL-1, TNF alpha, MCP-1) vary with the model of injury, requirements for adhesion molecules (beta 2 integrins, selectins, ICAM-1) differ. In most cases the immediate events related to tissue injury can be linked to toxic products from oxygen and L-arginine. Whether there is a single toxic product or a variety of toxic products remains to be determined. These data emphasize similarities and differences in the mechanisms of inflammatory injury, as a function of the inciting inflammatory agent and the organ system involved.