Description
Background: C-C or ˆ« chemokine family members are characterized by a pair of adjacent cysteine residues and serve as potent chemoattractants and activators of monocytes and T cells. C-C chemokine receptor family members include CKR-1, CKR-2A, CKR-2B, CKR-3, CKR-4, CKR-5, CKR-6, CKR-7, CKR-8, CKR-9, CKR-10 and the Duffy blood group antigen. Each of these receptors are G protein-coupled, seven pass transmembrane domain proteins whose major physiological role is to function in the chemotaxis of T cells and phagocytic cells to areas of inflammation. However, this receptor family has also been shown to facilitate viral infection. Termed a œcoreceptor, CKR-5, along with CD4, has been shown to be a major receptor for HIV. CKR-5 tends to associate with macrophage-tropic viruses, such as macrophage tropic HIV-1, while CKR-2B and CKR-3 bind a minority of viruses