Inflammatory cells are recruited to sites of inflammation by chemokines. Atypical chemokine receptors regulate chemokine gradients, thereby limiting inflammation. In this issue of Kidney International, atypical chemokine receptor 2 knockouts were described to be increasingly susceptible to immune complex-mediated glomerulonephritis. By degrading CCL2, atypical chemokine receptor 2 limited the recruitment of immune cells and myofibroblasts to the renal interstitial compartment. Therefore, not only inflammation, but also fibrosis, was effectively inhibited, making atypical chemokine receptor 2 an attractive therapeutic target in glomerulonephritis.
Copyright © 2018 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.