ABSTRACT
Chemokines are a newly identified group of chemotactic cytokines that induce directed cellular locomotion (reviewed in Refs. 1, 2) and are involved in homing of immune and inflammatory cells. Some chemokines have additional activity, but the chemotactic activity is the functional hallmark. All of them have molecular weights in the range of 8-12 kDa. Like most cytokines, chemokines are pleiotropic. Their receptors belong to the heptahelical (seven transmembrane spanning) G-protein-coupled receptor superfamily. Many of the receptors bind more than one ligand. Consequently, chemokines have extensive overlapping functions.
