COMPREHENSIVE INVITED REVIEW Chemokines and Their Receptors Are Key Players in the Orchestra That Regulates Wound Healing Manuela Martins-Green,* Melissa Petreaca, and Lei Wang Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, California. Significance: Normal wound healing progresses through a series of over- lapping phases, all of which are coordinated and regulated by a variety of molecules, including chemokines. Because these regulatory molecules play roles during the various stages of healing, alterations in their presence or function can lead to dysregulation of the wound-healing process, potentially leading to the development of chronic, nonhealing wounds. Recent Advances: A discovery that chemokines participate in a variety of disease conditions has propelled the study of these proteins to a level that potentially could lead to new avenues to treat disease. Their small size, ex- posed termini, and the fact that their only modifications are two disulfide Manuela Martins-Green, PhD bonds make them excellent targets for manipulation. In addition, because they bind to G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), they are highly amenable to Submitted for publication January 9, 2013. *Correspondence: Department of Cell Biology pharmacological modulation. and Neuroscience, University of California, Riv- Critical Issues: Chemokines are multifunctional, and in many situations, their erside, Biological Sciences Building, 900 Uni- functions are highly dependent on the microenvironment. Moreover, each versity Ave., Riverside, CA 92521 (email:
[email protected]). specific chemokine can bind to several GPCRs to stimulate the function, and both can function as monomers, homodimers, heterodimers, and even oligo- mers. Activation of one receptor by any single chemokine can lead to desen- Abbreviations sitization of other chemokine receptors, or even other GPCRs in the same cell, and Acronyms with implications for how these proteins or their receptors could be used to Ang-2 = angiopoietin-2 manipulate function.