[Frontiers in Bioscience 14, 540-551, January 1, 2009]

Chemokines and chemokine receptors: an overview

Raffaella Bonecchi1,2, Emanuela Galliera2, Elena M. Borroni1,2, Massimiliano M. Corsi2, Massimo Locati1,2, Alberto Mantovani1,2

1IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas, I-20089 Rozzano, Italy; 2Institute of General Pathology, University of Milan Medical Faculty, I-20133 Milan, Italy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. The chemokine system
3.1. The repertoire of chemokines and chemokine receptors
3.2. Sources and targets of chemokines
3.3. Chemokines and the multistep model of leukocyte trafficking
4. Chemokine system regulation
4.1. Regulation at the level of chemokines production
4.2. Regulation at the level of chemokines processing
4.3. Regulation at the level of receptor expression
4.4. Chemokine decoy receptors
5. The role of chemokines in homeostasis and in pathology
5.1. Chemokines in homeostatic conditions
5.2. Chemokines and inflammation
5.3. Chemokines and infectious diseases
5.4. Chemokines and angiogenesis
5.5. Chemokines and tumors
6. Perspective
7. Acknowledgements
8. References

1. ABSTRACT

Chemokines are chemotactic cytokines orchestrating leukocyte recruitment in physiological and pathological conditions. This complex system includes 42 molecules and 19 receptors and is subjected to different levels of regulation, including ligand production, post-translational modifications and degradation, as well as receptor expression and signaling activity. Here we analyze the chemokine system, with particular attention to available information on clinical situations in which chemokines or their receptors might assume diagnostic value.