Chemokine receptors: new targets for therapeutic intervention

Understanding the mechanisms of chemokine signaling and chemokine function with the aim to provide a clearer understanding of how this family of proteins acts, and define new orientations for the treatment of inflammatory, autoimmune and infectious diseases. Our group, using resonance energy transfer tecnologies (FRET, BRET) and advanced microscopy, STED and TIRF , have determined that these receptors form homo- and heterodimers and even oligomers at the cell membrane. They are dynamic structures that are modulated by receptor expression and ligand binding and diffuse embebed in the lipid membrane. This is an organized diffusion controled by the actin cytoskeleton and modulated by the lipid composition and the expresion of other transmembrane proteins. The spatiotemporal organization of these receptors, essential for their signaling activity, is a target that allows intervention in in vivo functions associated to the chemokines.