Biology and therapeutic implications of the chemokine RANTES

RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted) is a chemoattractant cytokine (chemokine) that is involved in the generation of inflammatory infiltrates and in the entry of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) into immune cells. It was first identified as part of a screen for genes expressed late (3-5 days) after T cell activation. It binds a variety of seven transmembrane spanning serpentine receptors expressed by monocytes, T lymphocytes, eosinophils, and basophils. RANTES has been implicated in a myriad of immune-mediated disease states, including asthma, delayed type hypersensitivity, arteriosclerosis, transplant rejection, rheumatoid arthritis, infections, and cancer. Downregulating RANTES expression may be therapeutic for inflammatory diseases, while upregulating RANTES expression may be useful for the treatment of the acquired immune defiency syndrome (AIDS) and/or cancer. Several novel approaches have used information on the structure and function of RANTES to develop new therapies. Chemokines as a group appear to be important targets for develpment of new immunotherapies.