Targeting of memory.

Abstract

Current therapeutic options that are based on immunosuppression do not provide a cure for the treatment of chronic inflammation. Though more efficient immunosuppression and the introduction of biologicals such as antibodies targeting cytokines have improved clinical outcomes, immunosuppressive therapy has to be continued to be efficient, thus enhancing the risk of adverse events and undesired side effects. Why can immunosuppression ameliorate, even stop, but not cure chronic inflammation? Is chronic inflammation perpetuated beyond suppression by mechanisms independent of the immune system, or is it perpetuated by components of the immune system which are resistant to a block of ongoing immune reactions? One such component of the immune system is immunological memory. This article will review the role of immunological memory in chronic inflammation, as far as we understand it today, and discuss implications for the development of novel therapeutic strategies aiming at a cure for diseases involving chronic inflammation.