In this study, we demonstrate that the CXC family of chemokines displays disparate angiogenic activity depending upon the presence or absence of the ELR motif. CXC chemokines containing the ELR motif (ELR-CXC chemokines) were found to be potent angiogenic factors, inducing both in vitro endothelial chemotaxis and in vivo corneal neovascularization. In contrast, the CXC chemokines lacking the EL...

Understanding the increasingly complex role of chemokines in various manifestations of atherosclerotic vascular disease and the apparent redundancy in their expression requires improved concepts defining the specialization and cooperation of chemokines in regulating the recruitment of mononuclear cells to vascular lesions. In an attempt to elaborate such models, this review highlights recent in...

CXC chemokines display pleiotropic effects in immunity, regulating angiogenesis, and mediating organ-specific metastases of cancer. In the context of angiogenesis, CXC chemokines are a unique family of cytokines, known for their ability to behave in a disparate manner in the regulation of angiogenesis. Members that contain the 'ELR' motif are potent promoters of angiogenesis, and mediate their ...

Two subpopulations of human T lymphocytes expressing different antigen receptors, § / g and + / ˇ , emigrate into inflamed tissues in distinctive patterns. We compared the transmigration of § / g and + / ˇ T cells to C-C and C-X-C chemokines using an in vitro transendothelial chemotaxis assay. The C-C chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, RANTES, macrophage inflammatory protein (...

The systemic vasculitides are a group of diseases where the primary pathological process is inflammatory injury to blood vessel walls. Their clinical manifestations are highly variable and range from organ specific disease to a systemic illness that can lead, if untreated, to multi-organ failure and death. The kidneys are often involved in systemic vasculitis, particularly in small vessel vascu...

Current therapies for preterm labour (PTL) focus on arresting myometrial contractions but are largely ineffective, thus alternative therapeutic targets need to be identified. Leukocytes infiltrate the uterus around the time of labour, and are in particularly abundant in decidua (maternal-fetal interface). Moreover, decidual inflammation precedes labour in rat pregnancies and thus may contribute...

Several members of the chemokine family play an important role in reparative fibrosis and are involved in the pathogenesis of remodeling following myocardial infarction. Chemokines may regulate the fibrotic process through recruitment and activation of mononuclear cell subsets and fibroblast progenitors (fibrocytes), by exerting direct effects on resident fibroblasts, and by modulating angiogen...

The arterial vessel wall response to a variety of injuries consists in structural changes, which can result in luminal narrowing and aggravation of the underlying disease. This arterial remodeling is characterized by neointima formation and medial thickening, inflammatory cell recruitment and endothelial dysfunction. Chemokines and the corresponding receptors have been shown to participate at e...

The importance of showing up at the right place at the right time is instilled in leukocytes, just as it is in each one of us, by our parents. The fact that leukocyte infiltration of a newly established allograft typically presages the development of acute rejection is the downside of having an exquisitely tuned and finely balanced immune system. Chemokines binding to their receptors on leukocy...

Chemokines (CKs) are a family of small proteins secreted by a great variety of cell types. Their name (derived from chemoattractant cytokines) is due to their ability to induce directed chemotaxis in nearby responsive cells. Some CKs are considered pro-inflammatory and can be induced during an immune response to promote cells of the immune system to a site of infection, whereas others are consi...