Cxcl1

Chemokines, a subgroup of cytokines, are small (size between 8 and 10 kDa), chemotactically active proteins (signal proteins). They are common in all vertebrates, some virus types and bacteria. In humans, about 50 chemokines are currently known. A strongly conserved structural feature of all chemokines is a fixed group of cysteine residues that is stabilized by 1 or 2 disulfide bridges. This key structural position in the molecule is responsible for its fixed 3-dimensional structure.

In the CC chemokines, the cysteines follow each other directly, in the CXC chemokines they are separated (CC = acronym for cysteine-cysteine) by 1, in the CXXXC chemokines by 3 other amino acids.

CXC chemokines: At present, 16 CXC chemokines are known in humans. CXC chemokines are divided by further structural features (e.g. the ELR motif consisting of 3 amino acids): ELR-positive CXC chemokines are promoters of angiogenesis, ELR-negative CXC chemokines have an anti-angiogenetic effect.