Chemokines: Small Molecules Participate in Diabetes

Chemokines are small protein molecules involved in cell signaling processes. They play a crucial role in many physiological and pathological processes. Chemokines are functionally classified into two categories; inflammatory/inducible and constitutive. Their biologic functional differences are the result of their receptors structural differences. Recently some studies were performed about the chemokines changes in diabetes. Inflammatory mechanisms have an important role in diabetes. In this review article we searched the keywords chemokines, diabetes, diabetes pathogenesis, and type 1 and 2 diabetes in Persian resources, PubMed and famous English-language websites through advanced search engines and found the newest studies about the role of chemokines in the pathogenesis of diabetes. The results of the studies showed that diabetes and its disorders enhance the activation of immune cells and the expression of cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, SDF-1, INF-γ, TGF-β, MCP-1, IP-10, TNF-α, and RANTES; most of them have impact on the pathogenesis of diabetes. Comparison and analysis of the results obtained from our research and the results of performed studies in the world and Iran shows that chemokines, like other protein molecules involved in the pathogenesis and etiology of diabetes, play a role in this process.