Impact of lipoxin-mediated regulation on immune response to infectious disease

During Toxoplasma gondii infection pro-inflammatory mediators such as IL-12, IFN-gamma, and TNF are essential in controlling parasite growth. Those factors, however, can be detrimental to the host if produced in excess, and their effects need to be counterbalanced by the simultaneous induction of regulatory mediators including cytokines and antiinflammatory ecosanoids, lipoxins. Here, we review such novel molecules and the stop signaling pathways recently referred to as checkpoint controllers to keep proinflammatory response under control during chronic disease, as well as from the perspective of the pathogen, which pirates the host's lipoxygenase machinery to its own advantage as a probable immune-escape mechanism.