chemokine

noun

che·​mo·​kine ˌkē-mō-ˈkīn 

: any of a group of cytokines produced by various cells (as at sites of inflammation) that stimulate chemotaxis in white blood cells (such as neutrophils and T cells)

Examples of chemokine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Further implicating the chemokine, the increase was localized specifically to the white matter of the hippocampus, with no reactivity in cortical or other subcortical white matter. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022

Looking to pinpoint the driving force behind the atrophying of hippocampal neurogenesis, the group of experts turned to the chemokine CCL11. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022

As expected, patients lacking cognitive symptoms had lower levels of CCL11 circulating in their blood, again implicating the chemokine. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022

The skin’s response of UVB cause a chain reaction of other responses that begin with the release of chemicals, known as chemokines and cytokines. —Tiffany Dodson, SELF, 25 May 2019

Cytokines orchestrate other components of the immune system to appropriately fight the invading virus, while chemokines direct these components to the location of infection. —Laura Haynes, Newsweek, 17 Feb. 2018

Word History

Etymology

chemo- + -kine (in cytokine)

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

chemokine

noun

che·​mo·​kine

-ˈkīn

: any of a group of chemotactic cytokines that are produced by various cells (as at sites of inflammation), that are thought to provide directional cues for the movement of white blood cells (as T cells, monocytes, and neutrophils), and that include some playing a role in HIV infection because the cell surface receptors to which they bind are also used by specific strains of HIV for entry into cells