3^rd Edition of Infectious Diseases World Conference 2026

Abstract

The management of immune/ inflammatory responses is paramount to prevent chronicity and induce tissue homeostasis. Therapeutic approaches targeting nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), Hippo, and mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) have offered a framework to implement novel therapies to modulate cell-specific immune responses. An accumulating body of evidence highlights the crucial roles of signaling molecules to modulate inflammation damage, apoptosis, proliferation, and cell survival upon immune-related injury. Manipulation of cell plasticity to promote tissue/organ regeneration and repair via multiple signaling networks represents a state-of-the-art therapeutic strategy. Moreover, the involvement of the immune system is a well-recognized component in the pathophysiology of inflammatory cardiovascular diseases, which represent one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The expression of inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), d-dimers, lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2, and long pentraxin 3 (PTX3), correlates with the severity of cardiovascular diseases and other inflammatory-associated pathologies. NF-κB serves an important role in inflammation, infection/immune responses, and cancer pathology. Crucially, NF-κB inhibition is often associated with the alleviation of inflammatory responses, as activation of NF-κB target gene expression promotes inflammation, cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Besides, the Hippo signaling pathway is a critical governor of cardiac development and regeneration, playing inhibitory roles in pro-inflammatory responses. Also, mTOR mediators communicate with Hippo and NF-κB signaling networks to induce anti-inflammatory/ pro-inflammatory effects, in a crosstalk-dependent fashion. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of NF-κB, Hippo, and mTOR signaling pathways underlying therapeutic perspectives might represent a promising tool for the discovery of potential drugs in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.