[Chemokines in ophthalmology].

Chemokines are chemotactically active cytokines, which coordinate the distribution of immune cells within the body and also regulate the migration of leukocytes in malignant and inflammatory processes. Chemokines are a heterogeneous group of short-chain proteins that are divided into different subgroups on the basis of their structure. In addition to the chemokines (ligands) various chemokine receptors also exist. The chemokine system is given its complexity by the high redundancy of ligand-receptor interactions: one single ligand can bind to different receptors and a single receptor can interact with different ligands. In terms of receptors, distinct immune cell types have characteristic receptor expression patterns, which can be used for the immunological characterization of leukocytes. Important basic research is currently leading to a better understanding of the chemokine system. The essential importance of the chemokine system in various diseases of the anterior and posterior eye segments is becoming increasingly apparent. The following synopsis explains the individual clinical aspects as well as the underlying scientific work in the context of "chemokines in ophthalmology".