Damage-Associated Molecular Patterns in Human Diseases

This book is a continuation of the topic of “DAMPs in Human Diseases”, the basics of which were described in a first volume, and details of their role in polytrauma, solid organ injuries, atherosclerosis, and cerebrocardiovascular diseases in a second volume by the same author. The third volume presents our current understanding of the impact of DAMP-driven innate/adaptive immune responses on the etiopathogenesis of antigen-related disorders, focusing on infectious and autoimmune diseases (highlighting respiratory virus diseases such as COVID-19, bacterial sepsis, and malaria) and autoimmune diseases (emphasizing systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes), and briefly discussing allograft and tumor rejection. The detailed description and illustration of DAMP-triggered inflammatory pathways in the various chapters explain, for example, why it is the dysregulated emission of DAMPs - and not the virus or the bacterium per se- that is responsible for admitting COVID-19 or sepsis patients to the ICU for intensive care treatment. Also, the chapters on autoimmune diseases explain why, mechanistically, environmental factors make up a significant part of the risk in disease initiation and propagation. Our growing understanding of such deleterious pathogenetic functions of activating DAMPs and suppressing DAMPs (SAMPs) is used as a point of departure to explore how these molecules can be used as valuable diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers as well as future therapeutic targets and therapeutics. The book is written for professionals from all medical and paramedical disciplines who are interested in the introduction of innovative data from modern inflammation and immunity research into clinical practice. In this sense, the book reflects an approach to translational medicine. The readership will include all practitioners and clinicians, in particular, ICU clinicians, infectiologists, microbiologists, virologists,hematologists, rheumatologists, diabetologists, neurologists, transplantologists, oncologists, and pharmacists.