Fig. 2.

The role of pathogens in inflammation, which here is vastly abstracted for mathematical modeling purposes. Green arrows: induction; blunted red lines: suppression. The initiating stimulus, i.e., a pathogen, stimulates both pro- and anti-inflammatory pathways, although with different strengths. Pro-inflammatory agents (e.g., TNFα) can cause tissue damage or dysfunction, which in turn stimulates further inflammation through the release of “danger signals.” Adapted from [32].