Lipocalin 2 regulation and its complex role in inflammation and cancer

► Lipocalin 2 is a novel protein with non-classical antimicrobial properties. ► It is rapidly upregulated via Toll-like Receptor/IL-1R (TIR) and IL-17R pathways. ► Its triggering receptors also downregulate lipocalin 2 to limit inflammation. ► NF-κB oscillatory pathways or CEBPβ phosphorylation may negatively regulate. ► Its exact role in apoptosis and cancer is fascinating yet polemical.