Resolution, the grail for healthy ocular inflammation

Acute inflammation is a frequent, essential and beneficial response to maintain normal tissue function. PMN are the primary effector cells of acute inflammatory responses and their timely resolution by macrophages from an injured, stressed or infected tissues are required for the successful execution of this routine tissue response. Dysregulation of this fundamental program is a major factor in the global disease burden and contributes to many ocular diseases. Counter-regulatory signals are critical to the controlled activation of innate and adaptive immune responses in the eye and recent studies have identified two circuits in the cornea, uvea and/or retina, namely 15-lipoxygenase and heme-oxygenase, which control inflammation, promote resolution of PMN and afford neuroprotection. The role of these counter-regulator and pro-resolution circuits may provide insight into ocular inflammatory diseases and opportunities to restore stressed ocular tissue to a pre-inflammatory state, namely homeostasis, rather than limiting therapeutic options to palliative inhibition of pro-inflammatory circuits.