Abstract

CHEMOKINE SYSTEM- THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR MANY DISEASES

Dr Kavita Sekhri*, Dr Ruchika Nandha, Dr Suruchi Aditya

Abstract

Chemokines are named so because they induce chemotaxis. Chemokines are proteins that are involved in directed migration of various leucocytes. Chemokines are known to play an important role in normal physiological and pathological diseases. Apart from cell trafficking, they are involved in inflammatory, autoimmune diseases and tumorigenesis. Based on this, many chemokine receptor antagonists have been developed the foremost being CCR5 inhibitor Maraviroc which is contributing a lot to control HIV epidemic. Hence, this chemokine system can provide new, exciting and useful targets for developing new drugs for the treatment of various diseases. In this review chemokine structure, their receptors and their role in various diseases are highlighted along with strategies to inhibit chemokines. Medline, medscape, EMBASE, Cochrane database, Scopus and clinicaltrials.gov were searched using terms like “chemokine”, “chemokine receptors” and “chemokine blockers”. Journal articles describing chemokine system were screened.

Keywords: Chemokines, Chemokine blockers, Chemokine receptors.