Balancing act with chemokines in angiogenesis & inflammation

Abstract

Two functional types of chemokines have been identified. Researchers believe that any upset in the balance of these 2 groups can lead to the onset of certain pathological processes, such as tumour development and inflammation. But correction of the imbalance may well lead to disease improvement. Progress in the balancing act was reported at the IBC USA conference on Chemotactic Cytokines [ Philadelphia, US; October 1995 ]. Studies looking specifically at the effects of interleukin-8 (IL-8) blockade in models of acute lung inflammation were also presented.