IKKbeta/NF-kappaB and the miscreant macrophage.

Macrophage activation relies on complex intracellular signaling processes that integrate the need for rapid inflammatory responses to pathogens with the need to resolve inflammation without permanent harm to normal tissues. Patterns of aberrant macrophage activation characterize and sustain disorders of chronic inflammation, infection, and cancer. New studies now show a role for the NF-kappaB activator IKKbeta in promoting an alternative, immunosuppressive pattern of macrophage activation, which limits the cell's tumoricidal and bactericidal capacities. As cancers and pathogens may have evolved multiple mechanisms to manipulate macrophages for their own survival, is there anything we can do about it?