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Figure 1. Chemokines and chemokine receptors in oral tissues: potential involvement in the induction and maintenance of inflammatory reactions. A schematic representation of chemokine and chemokine receptor networks in oral tissues. Chemokine expression can be triggered by microbial components, inflammatory mediators, host factors such as dentin proteins, or even by mechanical stress. Both resident (such as osteoblasts, fibroblasts, mast, epithelial, and endothelial cells) and inflammatory cells (polymorphonuclear leukocytes [PMNs], lymphocytes, monocytes/macrophages) can be sources of chemokines in the oral environment. The chemokines produced in oral tissues selectively attract different cell types to the tissues, such as PMNs, lymphocyte subsets, monocytes/macrophages, and osteoclasts, and, consequently, can determine the course of inflammatory reactions and the clinical outcome of potentially associated diseases.
