Description
Macrophage inflammatory protein 1 alpha (MIP-1α), also known as CCL3, is a member of the chemokine family (1). Its primary function is as a monocyte chemoattractant, but reports have also demonstrated chemoattractant and adhesive effects by MIP-1α on CD8 T cells, B cells and eosinophils. MIP-1α has been identified as a stem cell inhibitory factor that can block the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells (2). The functional receptor for MIP-1α is CCR1 and CCR5 and it is has been shown to interact with CCL4 (3). Following acute lung injury in rats, MIP-1α stimulates production of TNF-alpha, which in turn up-regulates vascular adhesion molecules required for neutrophil influx (4). MIP-1α may have a potential role in host defense as a direct antiviral agent. It has been reported to show a significant direct antiviral activity against HSV-1(5)