The role of chemokines in vertebrate physiology and disease: a concise review

Abstract

Chemokines are classified as proteins with chemoattractant activities that have multiple crucial roles in health and disease, where they participate in the processes of development, angiogenesis, hematopoiesis and tumor metastasis. Multiple cells are involved in the production of chemokines. However, the main cells involved in such role are blood monocytes, macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes, where they exert their role in the inflammatory reaction following antigen recognition by tissue phagocytes. Due to their important role in the establishment of successful immune response, several microbes are incriminated in the production of proteins that mimic chemokines. In addition, their receptors could be used by microbes as a portal of entry to host cells, e.g., human immunodeficiency virus. Chemokines showed significant involvement in the pathogenesis of multiple diseases, e.g., thyroid autoimmune diseases, Behçet's disease and atherosclerosis. Presented is a concise minireview on some of the documented roles of chemokines in several physiological and pathological conditions.