Title:Therapeutic Targeting of Chemokines and Chemokine Receptors in Multiple Sclerosis: Opportunities and Challenges
Volume: 17
Issue: 7
Author(s): Tahereh Sadeghian-Rizi, Hossein Khanahmad and Ali Jahanian-Najafabadi*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan,Iran
Keywords:
Chemokine, chemokine receptor, multiple sclerosis, chemotaxis, CNS, blood brain barrier, blood CSF barrier.
Abstract: Background & Objective: Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune demyelinating disease of the
human central nervous system with still unknown etiology. Infiltration, accumulation and activation of
autoreactive T cells, macrophages and other inflammatory immune cells in the CNS are the crucial
steps in MS neuropathogenesis and development. Chemokines and their receptors play the main role
in the attraction of the pathogenic cells into the CNS in MS. Specific chemokines and chemokine receptors
are up-regulated in the actively demyelinating lesions and cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients.
Many medical studies investigated how changes in levels or activities of chemokines and their receptors
are implicated in leukocyte migration into CNS and consequently causing MS. These chemokines
and their receptors are under intense focus to introduce new therapeutic strategies for MS.
Conclusion: The aim of this review is to summarize previous findings on the relationship between
chemokines network and MS development. Furthermore, opportunities and challenges in the chemokine
system intervention as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of MS will be outlined.
