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Encyclopedia of Inflammatory Diseases pp 1–12Cite as

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Alarmins

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Definition

Alarmins, also known as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), are normal cell constituents that are released or secreted from damaged or dead/dying cells or exposed on the cell surface. After binding to different plasma membrane or intracellular recognition receptors, alarmins act as danger signals and promote and exacerbate the inflammatory response. Alarmins differ from exogenous danger signals, also referred to as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), inasmuch as they stimulate inflammation in the absence of external pathogens, while PAMPs alert the immune system to the presence of microbial molecules and external threats.

Alarmins represent a structurally diverse group of antimicrobial peptides (also referred to as antibacterial host-defense peptides); metabolic products such as DNA, ATP, uric acid, heparan sulfate, hyaluronan fragments, and reactive oxygen species (ROS); and proteins such as high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1), heat shock proteins...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Human Sciences, University of Osnabrueck, Barbarastrasse 22, 49076, Osnabrück, Germany

    Claus Kerkhoff, Yvonne Radon & Hannah Flaßkamp

Authors
  1. Claus Kerkhoff
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  2. Yvonne Radon
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  3. Hannah Flaßkamp
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claus Kerkhoff .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst of Clinical Pharmacology Haus 74/75, JW Goethe University Frankfurt Fraunhofer IME, Frankfurt, Germany

    Michael Parnham

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© 2014 Springer Basel

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Kerkhoff, C., Radon, Y., Flaßkamp, H. (2014). Alarmins. In: Parnham, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Inflammatory Diseases. Birkhäuser, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-0620-6_78-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-0620-6_78-1

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  • Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Basel

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-0348-0620-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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