Petrey AC, de la Motte CA. Hyaluronan, a crucial regulator of inflammation.
Front Immunol 2014;
5:101. [PMID:
24653726 PMCID:
PMC3949149 DOI:
10.3389/fimmu.2014.00101]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 339] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2014] [Accepted: 02/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Hyaluronan (HA), a major component of the extracellular matrix (ECM), plays a key role in regulating inflammation. Inflammation is associated with accumulation and turnover of HA polymers by multiple cell types. Increasingly through the years, HA has become recognized as an active participant in inflammatory, angiogenic, fibrotic, and cancer promoting processes. HA and its binding proteins regulate the expression of inflammatory genes, the recruitment of inflammatory cells, the release of inflammatory cytokines, and can attenuate the course of inflammation, providing protection against tissue damage. A growing body of evidence suggests the cell responses are HA molecular weight dependent. HA fragments generated by multiple mechanisms throughout the course of inflammatory pathologies, elicit cellular responses distinct from intact HA. This review focuses on the role of HA in the promotion and resolution of inflammation.
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