The role of chemokines in the immunopathology of the liver

Chemokines are small protein inflammatory mediators that were classically k nown for their elicitation of inflammatory cells out of the vasculature. Ho wever, more contemporary studies show that these ubiquitous factors impinge on many facets of biology, including hematopoiesis, angiogenesis, and mito geneis. The elucidation of mechanisms involved in the immunopathogenesis of liver disease has magnified the importance of chemokines in this organ. Ac cordingly, a number of in vitro and in vivo studies have highlighted the im portance of chemokine biology in both acute and chronic liver disease, and a variety of liver diseases have been shown to involve chemokines and their receptors during the initiation and maintenance of liver pathology. A grea ter understanding of the role chemokines play during liver disease may perm it the employment of therapies that target or enhance chemokines in the liv er, This review will highlight the current clinical and experimental resear ch in the immunopathogenesis of acute and chronic liver diseases.