Methods for preventing or inhibiting inflammation in a subject are disclosed. In one aspect, the method comprises administering to a subject diagnosed with an inflammatory disease an effective amount of an anti-inflammatory agent that (1) inhibits the expression of CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, CXCL13, CXCR3 and/or CXCR5, or (2) inhibits the interaction between CXCR3 and CXCL9, CXCL10 or CXCL11, or between CXCR5 and CXCL13, or (3) inhibits a biological activity of CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, CXCL13, CXCR3 and/or CXCR5, wherein the agent comprises an antibody, antibody fragment, short interfering RNA (siRNA), aptamer, synbody, binding agent, peptide, aptamer-siRNA chimera, single stranded antisense oligonucleotide, triplex forming oligonucleotide, ribozyme, external guide sequence, or an agent-encoding expression vector.
