Chemokines are a class of chemotactic cytokines, or small secreted protein signals. Chemokines are specifically trophic molecules; that is, they signal leukocytes to move in a specific direction, up the gradient of chemokine concentration. Chemokines are divided on the basis of the protein structure according to cysteine motifs. The CxC group includes such molecules as interleukin-8 and platelet factor 4; the C C group includes such molecules as eotaxin and monocyte chemoattractant protein-3. Cytokines are small protein molecules that are the core of communication between immune system cells, and even between immune system cells and cells belonging to other tissue types. ... White Blood Cells is also the name of a White Stripes album. ... Cysteine is a naturally occurring hydrophobic amino acid which has a sulfhydryl group and is found in most proteins, however only in small quantities. ... In literature, a motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance. ... Interleukins are a group of cytokines that are expressed by white blood cells (leukocytes, hence the -leukin) as a means of communication (inter-). The function of the immune system depends in a large part on interleukins, and rare deficiencies of a number of them have been described, all featuring autoimmune... A monocyte is a white blood cell, part of the human bodys immune system. ...

The discovery that the b chemokines RANTES, MIP (macrophage inflammatory proteins) 1alpha and 1beta suppress HIV-1 provided the initial connection and indicated that these molecules might control infection as part of immune responses in vivo. Cocchi F, DeVico AL, Garzino-Demo A, Arya SK, Gallo RC, and Lusso P (October 1995) "Identification of RANTES, MIP-1a, and MIP-1b as the major HIV-suppressive factor produced by CD8+ T cells". Science 270, 1811-1815. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a frequently mutating retrovirus that attacks the human immune system and which has been shown to cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). ... Dr. Robert C. Gallo Robert C. Gallo (born March 23, 1937) is a U.S. biomedical researcher. ...

The association of chemokine production with antigen-induced proliferative responses, more favorable clinical status in HIV infection, as well as with an uninfected status in subjects at risk for infection suggests a positive role for these molecules in controlling the natural course of HIV infection.Alfredo Garzino-Demo, Ronald B. Moss, Joseph B. Margolick, Farley Cleghorn, Anne Sill, William A. Blattner, Fiorenza Cocchi, Dennis J. Carlo, Anthony L. DeVico, and Robert C. Gallo (October 1999) " Spontaneous and antigen-induced production of HIV-inhibitory β-chemokines are associated with AIDS-free status (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=18399&rendertype=abstract)". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96 (21), 11986–11991. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a frequently mutating retrovirus that attacks the human immune system and which has been shown to cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). ... Dr. Robert C. Gallo Robert C. Gallo (born March 23, 1937) is a U.S. biomedical researcher. ...

See also

• Chemotaxis
• Paracrine signalling

Chemotaxis is the phenomenon in which bacteria, other organisms, or single cells of multicellular organisms direct their movements according to certain chemicals in their environment. ... Paracrine signalling is a form of signalling in which the target cell is close to the signal releasing cell, and the signal chemical is broken down too quickly to be carried to other parts of the body. ...

External links

• List of chemokines and their receptors (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Search&db=books&doptcmdl=GenBookHL&term=%22chemokines%22%5BAll+Fields%5D+AND+imm%5Bbook%5D+AND+126053%5Buid%5D&rid=imm.table.2501)
• Suppression of HIV by chemokines (http://www.ihv.org/bios/garzino-demo.html)