Specialised lipid mediators and their targets

• Lipid mediators govern appropriate inflammatory responses.
• Appropriate responses include initiation, propagation, resolution and tissue repair.
• The use of lipid mediators in inflammatory disease may yield better outcomes.

Inflammation is a complex process governed by the interaction of multiple cell types of the innate immune system and secreted mediators. Such mediators may act in a paracrine or autocrine fashion on target effector cells. An appropriate inflammatory response is characterised by dynamically regulated initiation, propagation and eventual resolution and restoration of tissue homeostasis. Dysregulation of any of these processes may underlie chronic inflammatory conditions such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and arthritis. Our growing understanding of the active processes underlying the resolution of inflammation suggest novel therapeutic paradigms. Here we review specialised lipid mediators and their targets which regulate such innate processes.