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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Kerkhoff, C., Radon, Y., Flaßkamp, H. (2016). Alarmins. In: Parnham, M.J. (eds) Compendium of Inflammatory Diseases. Springer, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-8550-7_78
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-8550-7_78
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