Research progresses of roles of inflammatory cytokines in pulmonary infection

Pulmonary infection is a common kind of respiratory disease caused by a wide range of pathogens, which seriously threatens human health. The researches of molecular mechanisms of lung infection have attracted more and more attentions in recent years. It is found that cytokines play an important role on acute and chronic inflammatory reactions caused by lung infection, including interleukins, tumor necrosis factor-α， and so on. In this paper, the correlations between these cytokines with pathogenesis and prognosis of pulmonary infection are reviewed.