Chemokines take center stage in inflammatory ills
Gura, T.
Science 272(5264): 954-956
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 8638140 Document Number: 469409
Chemokines are a family of proteins that act as magnets for white blood cells and thus play a crucial role in eliciting inflammatory responses. Although immunologists discovered the first chemokine almost a decade ago, the proteins did not become big news until late 1995, when Robert Gallo's team at the National Cancer Institute found that certain chemokines suppress production of the AIDS virus. This discovery raised the possibility that the proteins could be used to treat the immunodeficiency disease. Now, research reported in the May 10, 1996, issue of Science suggests an explanation as to how chemokines inhibit AIDS virus reproduction: They may attach to and block the cell surface protein that the virus must latch onto in order to enter cells. The writer describes the role chemokines play in the body and discusses research on them.