Sterile inflammation in acute liver injury: myth or mystery?

Inflammation during liver injury normally serves as a mechanism for cleaning up debris and as a stimulant for regeneration. However, aberrant levels of inflammation can provoke further liver injury and inhibit regeneration through the release of damaging reactive oxygen species. Considerable effort has gone into understanding the mechanisms that control the switch between healthy and pathological inflammation. The identification of a receptor system that detects damage-associated molecular patterns and stimulates inflammation has led to the idea of sterile inflammation. This article will focus on the role of sterile inflammation during liver injury in three models where sterile inflammation has been presumed to mediate a portion of the injury mechanism and its potential relevance for the human pathophysiology.