ab214015

Role of chemokines and chemokine receptors in regulating specific leukocyte trafficking in the immune/inflammatory response

A. Manzo^1,2, R. Caporali¹, C. Montecucco¹, C. Pitzalis²

Cattedra di Reumatologia, Universitá degli Studi di Pavia, IRCCS Policlinico S. Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
²Rheumatology Department, Guy's, King's and St Thomas (GKT) School of Medicine, Guy's Campus, St Thomas Street, London SE1 9RT, UK.

ABSTRACT
Antigen recognition, lymphocyte priming and effector responses in inflamed tissues depend on a coordinated and sequential series of events that take place in different anatomical compartments. The integration of these processes is favoured by the dynamic capacity of leukocytes to recirculate between the bloodstream and specific organs and to navigate inside the tissues in a programmed fashion, regulated by a complex interaction of cell adhesion molecules and soluble chemoattractants, in particular chemokines. In this review we discuss the role of chemokines and chemokine receptors in regulating leukocyte trafficking in different anatomical sites in the context of distinct functional phases of the immune/inflammatory response.

Key words
chemokines, leukocyte migration, inflammation.

Please address correspondence to: Professor Costantino Pitzalis, MD, PhD, FRCP, Professor of Experimental Rheumatology, Rheumatology Department, 5th Floor, Thomas Guy House, Guy's Hospital, London SE1 9RT, UK.
E-mail: costantino.pitzalis@kcl.ac.uk