Chemokine receptor family | |
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Identifiers | |
Symbol | Chemokine_rcpt |
InterPro | IPR000355 |
Chemokine receptors are cytokine receptors found on the surface of certain cells that interact with a type of cytokine called a chemokine.[1][2] There have been 20 distinct chemokine receptors discovered in humans.[3] Each has a rhodopsin-like 7-transmembrane (7TM) structure and couples to G-protein for signal transduction within a cell, making them members of a large protein family of G protein-coupled receptors. Following interaction with their specific chemokine ligands, chemokine receptors trigger a flux in intracellular calcium (Ca2+) ions (calcium signaling). This causes cell responses, including the onset of a process known as chemotaxis that traffics the cell to a desired location within the organism. Chemokine receptors are divided into different families, CXC chemokine receptors, CC chemokine receptors, CX3C chemokine receptors and XC chemokine receptors that correspond to the 4 distinct subfamilies of chemokines they bind. The four subfamilies of chemokines differ in the spacing of structurally important cysteine residues near the N-terminal of the chemokine.[4]