Adhesion and migration of inflammatory cells

Adhesion molecules play a major role in many biological functions. From the immunological point of view they are involved in virtually every process involving cell contact from thymic selection to antigen priming, from antigen recognition to cell activation, from cytotoxicity to lymphocyte recirculation. During an inflammatory process leucocyte migration represents one of the most important mechanisms of defense. At the site of the lesion inflammatory cells become activated and differentiate into effector cells. If the insult persists, mononuclear cells are retained in the attempt to clear the noxious stimulus. In this article the mechanisms of cell migration are reviewed together with the role of adhesion molecules in cell activation and local retention. Finally, the new therapeutic modalities against adhesion molecules are briefly considered.