Chemokine receptors comprise a large subfamily of 7TM proteins that bind one or more chemokines, a large family of small cytokines. Chemokine receptors can be divided by function into two main groups: G protein-coupled chemokine receptors, which mediate leukocyte trafficking, and “Atypical chemokine receptors”, which may signal through non-G protein-coupled mechanisms and act as chemokine scavengers to downregulate inflammation or shape chemokine gradients.
