Alarmin-induced cell migration

Alarmins are endogenous, constitutively available, damage-associated molecular patterns that upon release can mobilize and activate various leukocytes for the induction of innate and adaptive immune responses. For our immune system to function appropriately, it relies on navigating various leukocytes to distinct places at the right time. The direction of cell migration is determined by chemotactic factors that include classical chemoattractants, chemokines, certain growth factors, and alarmins. This viewpoint provides an overview of alarmin-induced cell migration. Alarmins are capable of inducing the migration of diverse types of leukocytes and nonleukocytes either directly by triggering specific receptors or indirectly by inducing production of chemokines through the activation of various leukocytes via pattern recognition receptors. The receptors used by alarmins to directly induce cell migration can either be Gαi protein-coupled receptors or receptors such as the receptor for advanced glycation end products; however, the intracellular signaling events responsible for the direct chemotactic activities of alarmins are, to date, only partially elucidated. Given that alarmins act in concert with chemokines to regulate the recruitment and trafficking of leukocytes, these damage-associated molecular patterns are potentially involved in diverse biological processes as discussed in this viewpoint.