Inflammation is an essential response to microbial infection, tissue injury, and hypersensitivity reactions, as part of the innate and adaptive immune responses, capable of affecting every organ and tissue in the body. Deficiency or dysfunction of the inflammatory response may underlie and/or contribute to a variety of clinical disorders, including infection, sepsis, autoimmunity, neurodegenerative conditions, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. In fact, 78% of all deaths in the United States in 2002 could be attributed to one or more of these conditions as well as cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, diabetes mellitus, influenza and pneumonia, Alzheimer’s disease, renal disease, and septicemia (CDC Report on Health in the United States, 2004), all of which include a significant inflammatory response.