Alarmins are of particular interest because of their role in both infectious and sterile inflammation. They are present either locally or systemically in severe sepsis, burns, infection, arthritis, and cancer (10, (15) (16) (17) . Alarmins are found in a variety of organelles in all cell types studied and maintain functions in normal cellular homeostasis. They are found in the nucleus as transcription factors (HMGB1), in the cytoplasm as calcium regulators (S100s), in exosomes as chaperones (HSPs), or as components of the cell matrix (hyaluronan). Although diverse in their locations during homeostatic conditions, alarmins have many common functional characteristics. In addition to immune activation, an alarmin is released rapidly during necrosis, sequestered in apoptosis, has potential for active secretion by immune cells, and ultimately promotes homeostasis (13) . Because alarmins are a diverse group of ubiquitous molecules impli-cated in nearly all inflammatory states, understanding and ultimately modulating their activity may allow us to control the inflammatory processes.