Chemokines and Disease

When inflammation is long term, or chronic, and is directed at the body's own tissues, this can result in various forms of autoimmune disease. Arthritis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), atherosclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are all examples of chronic conditions where an inappropriate inflammatory response underlies disease. According to the National Institutes of Health, there are more than 80 clinically distinct autoimmune diseases which collectively affect as many as 22 million people in the United States.

Chemokines and other chemoattractants direct inflammatory responses by serving to precisely coordinate the movement of cells of the immune system. Inappropriate activity of the chemokine network is at the core of numerous autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. For example, in Crohn's disease, dysregulation of either the chemokine CCL25 or the chemokine receptor to which it binds, CCR9, is thought to selectively attract inflammatory T cells to, and subsequently attack, tissues in the digestive tract.

By selectively blocking a given chemokine and chemokine receptor combination, and largely leaving other chemokine-chemokine receptors interactions unimpeded, even aggressive forms of chronic inflammation and autoimmunity can potentially be brought under control in a safe and effective manner.

In addition to its central role in autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, the chemokine system plays an important role in other diseases. For example, parts of the chemokine network are involved in the establishment of certain viral diseases. Importantly, chemokines are also involved in cancer. It is known that tumors induce the expression of chemokines that are involved in promoting the growth of vascular tissue, providing a link to the chemokine system's role in the establishment and spread of cancer. In particular, certain receptors in the CXC family of chemokine ligands and their corresponding receptors have been implicated in the survival, growth and migration of human cancer and in the process of angiogenesis, or the rapid development of blood vessels needed to nourish the growth of tumors.

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