A number of studies have found that the activation of NF-κB that occurs in ARDS may cause inflammatory cytokines, including adhesion molecules (CD11b/CD18, ICAM-1), chemokines (IL-8), TNF-α and IL-1β, to be expressed at the maximum level, which involves the transcriptional regulation of the activation of numerous genes (8,29). This evidence concerns the gene ITGAM and acute respiratory distress syndrome.