NovoPro offers a comprehensive set of tools for research on chemekines and their receptors, including recombinant proteins, antibodies (rabbit mAbs, mouse mAbs, rabbit pAbs), and ORF cDNA clones. Chemokines are chemotactic cytokines with the ability to induce directed chemotaxis in nearby responsive cells. Stimulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines infected tissues release chemokines, and chemokine gradients induce leukocytes to move between endothelial cells and pass the basement membrane into the infected tissues. Acting as a chemoattractant is the major role of chemokines and is the derivation of the name.
Chemokines are chemotactic cytokines with the ability to induce directed chemotaxis in nearby responsive cells. Stimulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines infected tissues release chemokines, and chemokine gradients induce leukocytes to move between endothelial cells and pass the basement membrane into the infected tissues. Acting as a chemoattractant is the major role of chemokines and is the derivation of the name. In fact, chemokines have multiple roles involved in many processes. Some chemokines, known as homeostatic chemokines, control cells of the immune system during processes of immune surveillance, such as directing lymphocytes to the lymph nodes so they can screen for invasion of pathogens by interacting with antigen-presenting cells residing in these tissues. The homeostatic chemokines are produced and secreted without any need to stimulate their source cell(s). Some chemokines have roles in development; they promote angiogenesis, or guide cells to tissues that provide specific signals critical for cellular maturation. Other chemokines play a critical role in tumor growth and metastasis.
Chemokines are divided into four groups based on their first two cysteine residues. The CC chemokines (or ?-chemokines) have two adjacent cysteines near their amino terminus. Inclusion in the CXC subfamily (or α-chemokine) is according to the two N-terminal cysteines that are separated by one amino acid (represented in this name with an "X"). The C chemokines (or γ - chemokines) have only two cysteines; one N-terminal cysteine and one cysteine downstream. Members of the CX3C subfamily have three amino acids between the two cysteines.