Chemokines and Spinal Cord Injury

The immune system plays a critical role in CNS disorders and spinal cord injury (SCI). Primary trauma to the adult mammalian spinal cord is immediately followed by secondary degeneration in which the inflammatory response is thought to be detrimental. This inflammatory response is mediated by small, chemotropic cytokines, called chemokines, which are secreted by a variety of cell types in the CNS including neurons, glia, and vascular cells. Here, we review studies which provide insight into the functional role of chemokines in neuroinflammation and disease, with an emphasis on SCI. More specifically, this review emphasizes studies which indicate that ablation of the T cell chemotactic CXC chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) results in diminished neuropathology associated with decreased immune cell infiltration into the CNS. Importantly, these findings reveal that targeting chemokines such as CXCL10 may offer a powerful therapeutic approach for the treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases.