Nature Immunology
2, 116 - 122 (2001)
doi:10.1038/84214
Viral exploitation and subversion of the immune system through chemokine mimicryPhilip M. Murphy
Molecular Signaling Section, Laboratory of Host Defenses, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bldg. 10, Room 11N113, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. pmm@nih.gov
The chemokine superfamily of leukocyte chemo-attractants coordinates development and deploy-ment of the immune system by signaling through a family of G protein−coupled receptors. The importance of this system to antimicrobial host defense has been supported by the discovery of numerous herpesviruses and poxviruses that encode chemokine mimics able to block chemo-kine action. However, specific herpesviruses and lentiviruses can also exploit the immune system through chemokine mimicry, for example, to facilitate viral dissemination or, as in the case of HIV-1, to directly infect leukocyte target cells. The study of viral mimicry of chemokines and chemokine receptors is providing important new concepts in viral immunopathogenesis, new anti-inflammatory drug leads and new targets and concepts for antiviral drug and vaccine development.
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