Chemokines as novel therapeutic targets for inflammatory bowel disease

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Sep:1173:350-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04738.x.

Abstract

The inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are illness characterized by a chronic clinical course of relapse and remission associated with self-destructive inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. In both UC and CD, leukocyte infiltration into the intestine is fundamental event in disease development and progression where the chemokines and their receptors are orchestrating the tissue-specific and the cell type-selective trafficking of leukocytes. In this review, we will discuss the homeostatic and inflammatory roles of the chemokines and their receptors with their potentials and promise as molecular targets for therapeutic interventions in human IBD, focusing on the recently identified role of the CX3CL1-CX3CR1 axis, as well as the CCL20-CCR6, CCL25-CCR9, and CXCL10-CXCR3 pathways.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Chemokine CCL20 / metabolism
  • Chemokine CX3CL1 / metabolism
  • Chemokines, CC / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / drug therapy
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / metabolism*
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / physiopathology
  • Models, Biological
  • Receptors, CCR / metabolism*
  • Receptors, CCR6 / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Signal Transduction / physiology*

Substances

  • CCR6 protein, human
  • Chemokine CCL20
  • Chemokine CX3CL1
  • Chemokines, CC
  • Receptors, CCR
  • Receptors, CCR6