Chemokines and their Receptors in Central Nervous System Disease

Chemokines and their Receptors in Central Nervous System Disease 

Chemokines are chemotactic cytokines that induce directional sensing and motile responses (defined as chemotaxis) in cells expressing the corresponding chemokine receptors. Chemokines are small (approx. lOkDa), mostly secreted proteins that were initially implicated in the regulation ofblood cell trafficking during host defense and immune responses initiated by pathogens. The first molecule with chemotactic properties (IL-8) was identified in 1987 [1] and since then the chemokine family has expanded rapidly to its current size. The family now consists in humans of 53 chemokines and 23 chemokine receptors (for an overview, seehttp //cytokine.medic. kumamoto-u.ac.jp/CFC/CK/Chemokine.html) [2]. 

Because a variety of acronyms has been provided by different investigators to designate newly discovered chemokines a new nomenclature has been introduced a couple of years ago [6]. Since then, chemokines and their receptors are classified 

Chemokine Receptors as Drug Targets. Edited by Maitine J. Smit, Sergio A. Lira, and Rob Leurs Copyright 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA, Weinheim ISBN 978-3-527-32118-6 

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