BACKGROUND Chemokines are a family of proteins that chemoattract and activate immune cells by interacting with specific receptors on the surface of their targets. We have shown previously that chemokine receptors including the interleukin-8 receptor B (CXCR2) and the Duffy blood group antigen are expressed on subsets of neurons in various regions of the adult nervous system. RESULTS Using a c...

The habenula is a conserved region of the brain that affects emotion and behavior, located in dorsal diencephalon zebrafish. Previous work has shown chemokine signaling plays significant role direction habenular axon growth. receptor cxcr4b expressed precursors Cxcr4b protein found on newly forming axons. Chemokine ligands Cxcl12a Cxcl12b are both around developing habenula. focus this research...

CC-chemokine receptor 5 serves as the coreceptor for the HIV-1 R5 strains, which are responsible for the majority of HIV transmissions. A deletion of 32 nucleotides in the gene encoding this receptor (termed CCR5-Δ32) leads to the suppression of CC-chemokine receptor 5 presentation at the cell surface, thus impeding process of HIV entry into the cell. Individuals homozygous for the CCR5-Δ32 all...

Chemokine receptors, a subclass of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), play essential roles in the human immune system, they are involved in cancer metastasis as well as in HIV-infection. A plethora of studies show that homo- and heterodimers or even higher order oligomers of the chemokine receptors CXCR4, CCR5, and CCR2 modulate receptor function. In addition, membrane cholesterol affects che...

C-C chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) is a major co-receptor molecule used by HIV-1 to enter cells. This led the hypothesis that stimulating an antibody response would block HIV with minimal toxicity. Here, X-ray crystallographic studies of anti-CCR5 RoAb13 together two peptides were undertaken: one peptide 31-residue containing PIYDIN sequence and other PIDYIN alone, where part N-terminal region CCR...

Human chemokine receptors play an important role in the immune system by coordinating the migration of leukocytes to inflammatory sites. Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) has pirated and modified a chemokine receptor-encoding gene from the host for its own benefit. It is therefore believed this KSHV-encoded chemokine receptor named ORF74 is involved in evading antiviral immune resp...

The Duffy blood group antigen has been postulated to be a receptor on red blood cells (RBCs) for the malarial parasite Plasmodium vivax and a promiscuous receptor for the chemokine superfamily of inflammatory proteins. Recently, the Duffy antigen glycoprotein D cDNA has been cloned (Chaudhuri et al: Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 90:10793, 1993). We have analyzed the binding properties of the cloned Du...

Biased signaling or functional selectivity occurs when a 7TM-receptor preferentially activates one of several available pathways. It can be divided into three distinct forms: ligand bias, receptor bias, and tissue or cell bias, where it is mediated by different ligands (on the same receptor), different receptors (with the same ligand), or different tissues or cells (for the same ligand-receptor...

Viruses encode proteins that disrupt chemokine responses. The murine gammaherpesvirus 68 gene M3 encodes a chemokine binding protein (vCKBP-3) which has no sequence similarity to chemokine receptors but inhibits chemokine receptor binding and activity. We have used a panel of CXCL8 analogs to identify the structural requirements for CXCL8 to bind to vCKBP-3 in a scintillation proximity assay. O...