CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE The inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1beta has been considered to be an immune effector molecule in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. As such, we examined its role on chemokine receptors which, when expressed in the pancreas, have also been associated with the development of type I autoimmune diabetes. DESIGN AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The presence of membrane and cyt...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Class A G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), including the chemokine receptors, CCR5 and CXCR4, share a seven transmembrane-spanning alpha-helix architecture that accommodates signal propagation from across biological membranes. CXCR4 and CCR5 are utilized as co-receptors during HIV viral entry and, therefore, crystal structures of GPCRs aid in the understanding of their funct...

Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is associated with high titers of immunoglobulin G class antibodies directed against the cationic platelet chemokine factor 4 (PF4). These activate platelets via Fc?IIa receptors. VITT closely resembles heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Inflammation and tissue trauma substantially increase risk for forming pathogenic PF4 antibodies. We t...

The divergent evolution of proteins in cellular signaling pathways requires ligands and their receptors to co-evolve, creating new pathways when a new receptor is activated by a new ligand. However, information about the evolution of binding specificity in ligand-receptor systems is difficult to glean from sequences alone. We have used phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), an enzyme that forms its act...

The chemokine receptors CXCR4, CCR2B, CCR3, and CCR5 have recently been shown to serve along with CD4 as coreceptors for HIV-1. The tropisms of HIV-1 strains for subgroups of CD4(+) cells can be explained, at least partly, by the selective use of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). We have identified a novel human gene, STRL33, located on chromosome 3 that encodes a GPCR with sequence similari...

Chemokines constitute a large family of chemotactic cytokines that belong to a super-gene family of 8-10 kDa proteins. The chemokines are considered to be primarily beneficial in host defense against invading pathogens. However, the reactions induced by chemokines can be occasionally excessive, resulting in a harmful response to the host. Recent studies in chemokine biology have elucidated that...