A New Shield for a Cytokine Storm

Highly virulent influenza virus infection results in excessive cytokine production, recruitment of leukocytes, and immune-mediated pulmonary injury. Teijaro et al. (2011) now demonstrate that sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 ligands suppress all features of flu-inflicted pathological inflammation and place the endothelium at the center of this regulatory network.