Chemoattractant cytokines or chemokines constitute a family of structurally related proteins found in vertebrates, bacteria, or viruses. So far, 48 chemokine genes have been identified in humans, which bind to around 20 chemokine receptors. These receptors belong to the seven transmembrane G-protein-coupled receptor family. Chemokines and their receptors were originally studied for their role in cellular trafficking of leukocytes during inflammation and immune surveillance. It is now known that they exert different functions under physiological conditions such as homeostasis, development, tissue repair, and angiogenesis but also under pathological disorders including tumorigenesis, cancer metastasis, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases. Physicochemical properties of chemokines and chemokine receptors confer the ability to homo- and hetero-oligomerize. Many efforts are currently performed in establishing new therapeutically compounds able to target the chemokine/chemokine receptor system. In this review, we are interested in the role of chemokines in inflammatory disease and leukocyte trafficking with a focus on vascular inflammatory diseases, the operating synergism, and the emerging therapeutic approaches of chemokines.
Rationale Sialylation by α2,3-sialyltransferases has been shown to be a crucial glycosylation step in the generation of functional selectin ligands. Recent evidence suggests that sialylation also affects the binding of chemokines to their corresponding receptor. Objective Because the chemokine receptors for Ccl5 and Ccl2 are important in atherogenic recruitment of neutrophils and monocytes, we here investigated the role of α2,3-sialyltransferase IV (ST3Gal-IV) in Ccl5- and Ccl2-mediated myeloid cell arrest and further studied its relevance in a mouse model of atherosclerosis. Methods and Results St3Gal4-deficient myeloid cells showed a reduced binding of Ccl5 and an impaired Ccl5-triggered integrin activation. Correspondingly, Ccl5-induced arrest on tumor necrosis factor-α–stimulated endothelium was almost completely abrogated, as observed in flow chamber adhesion assays and during ex vivo perfusion or intravital microscopy of carotid arteries. Moreover, Ccl5-triggered neutrophil and monocyte extravasation into the peritoneal cavity was severely reduced in St3Gal4−/− mice. In contrast, St3Gal4 deficiency did not significantly affect Ccl2 binding and only marginally decreased Ccl2-induced flow arrest of myeloid cells. In agreement with the crucial role of leukocyte accumulation in atherogenesis, and the importance of Ccl5 chemokine receptors mediating myeloid cell recruitment to atherosclerotic vessels, St3Gal4 deficiency drastically reduced the size, stage, and inflammatory cell content of atherosclerotic lesions in Apoe−/− mice on high-fat diet. Conclusions In summary, these findings identify ST3Gal-IV as a promising target to reduce inflammatory leukocyte recruitment and arrest.
Myocardial infarction (MI) induces a complex inflammatory immune response, followed by the remodelling of the heart muscle and scar formation. The rapid regeneration of the blood vessel network system by the attraction of hematopoietic stem cells is beneficial for heart function. Despite the important role of chemokines in these processes, their use in clinical practice has so far been limited by their limited availability over a long time-span in vivo. Here, a method is presented to increase physiological availability of chemokines at the site of injury over a defined time-span and simultaneously control their release using biodegradable hydrogels. Two different biodegradable hydrogels were implemented, a fast degradable hydrogel (FDH) for delivering Met-CCL5 over 24 hrs and a slow degradable hydrogel (SDH) for a gradual release of protease-resistant CXCL12 (S4V) over 4 weeks. We demonstrate that the time-controlled release using Met-CCL5-FDH and CXCL12 (S4V)-SDH suppressed initial neutrophil infiltration, promoted neovascularization and reduced apoptosis in the infarcted myocardium. Thus, we were able to significantly preserve the cardiac function after MI. This study demonstrates that time-controlled, biopolymer-mediated delivery of chemokines represents a novel and feasible strategy to support the endogenous reparatory mechanisms after MI and may compliment cell-based therapies.
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