Chemokines and central nervous system disorders.

Chemokines and their receptors are large families of inflammatory molecules responsible for a number of biologic functions including the accumulation of leukocytes at tissue sites. Over the past 8 years, a number of studies have indicated a role for chemokines in the pathogenesis of CNS inflammatory diseases. This minireview provides a brief summary of our current knowledge of chemokines and CNS inflammatory diseases including experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, multiple sclerosis, virus-induced demyelinating diseases, Alzheimer's disease, and central nervous system bacterial-induced diseases.