In mammals, the most important facilitators of leukocyte migration are a class of chemoattractant cytokines (chemokines) that bind a large subfamily of the G protein–coupled receptors.

Full size table Inflammatory chemokines are expressed in inflamed tissues by resident and infiltrated cells on stimulation by pro-inflammatory cytokines or during contact with pathogenic agents.

Chemokines are a subclass of cytokines, a large family of small secreted proteins that communicate via G protein-coupled heptahelical chemokine receptors on the cell surface. Atrial fibrillation ...