Chemoattraction: Basic Concepts and Role in the Immune Response

José Luis Rodríguez‐Fernández, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Madrid, Spain
Lorena Riol‐Blanco, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Madrid, Spain

Published online: July 2007

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0000507.pub2

Chemoattraction is defined as the unidirectional movement of a cell, in response to a chemical gradient of ligands. During chemoattraction the cells move in the direction from a low to a high concentration of the chemoattractant. Chemoattraction is called ‘chemotaxis’ when the ligand gradient is soluble and ‘haptotaxis’ when this gradient is bound to the substrate. Chemoattraction plays a fundamental role in the regulation of the precise location of leucocytes during the immune response and consequently is fundamental for the adequate functioning of the immune system.

Keywords: chemotaxis; haptotaxis; chemokinesis; chemokine; chemokine receptor

Figure 1. Structure of chemokines. See text for details. Reproduced from Fernández and Lolis, 2002 with permission from Annual Reviews.
Figure 2. Chemokine-activated intracellular signalling pathways. AC, adenyl cyclase; Bad, Bcl-2/Bcl-XL-antagonist, causing cell death; Cdc42, small GTPase of the Rho family; DAG, diacylglycerol; Dia, Diaphanous formin protein family; eIF2B, eukaryotic initiation factor 2B; ERK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase; FA, focal adhesion; GSK3, glycogen synthase kinase 3; IP3, Ins(1,4,5)P3; JAK, Janus kinase; LIMK, LIM-motif-containing kinase; MEK, mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK kinase; MLCK, myosin light-chain kinase; MLCP, myosin light-chain phosphatase; MT, microtubulae organization, actin/myosin dynamics; mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin; p70 S6 K, p70 S6 kinase; PAK, p21-activated kinase; PDK, phosphoinositide-dependent kinase; PIP2, PtdIns(4,5)P2; PI4P5 K, phosphoinositide 4-phosphate 5-kinase; PKA, protein kinase A (cAMP-dependent protein kinase); PKC, protein kinase C; PLC, phospholipase C; PTK, protein tyrosine kinase; ROCK, Rho-associated coiled-coil-containing kinase; SF, S-filament; STAT, signal transduction and activator of transcription; WASp, Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein; WAVE, WASp-family verprolin homologous protein. Reproduced from Johnson et al. (2004) Biochemical Society Transactions 32: 366. With permission from the Biochemical Society.
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Related Sub-Topics:

Immunoregulation | Cells of the Immune System | Cell Motility
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Article Title: Chemoattraction: Basic Concepts and Role in the Immune Response
 
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Rodríguez‐Fernández, José Luis, and Riol‐Blanco, Lorena(Jul 2007) Chemoattraction: Basic Concepts and Role in the Immune Response. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0000507.pub2]