A natural reaction to an injury or bacterial infection, for example, is inflammation. Chemical messengers called cytokines that activate the immune response are released when your body starts an inflammatory reaction. Once inflammation has triggered the immune response, it recruits immune mediators and specialized cells to combat the insult. Inflammation-mediated immune responses can be used to effectively treat infections or repair tissues damaged during an injury.While inflammation is integral in regulating immunity when the body requires an effective immune response, chronic inflammation can occur when the inflammatory response carries on when not needed. Chronic inflammation can start when the natural inflammatory response does not subside after the triggering insult has resolved or when inflammation starts erroneously.