Chemokine C-X-C-Motif Receptor 4 (CXCR4)

CXCR4 is an alpha-chemokine receptor specific for stromal-derived-factor-1, a molecule endowed with potent chemotactic activity for lymphocytes. This receptor is one of several chemokine receptors that HIV isolates can use to infect CD4 T cells. Traditionally, HIV isolates that use CXCR4 are known as T-cell tropic isolates. Typically these viruses are found late in infection. It is unclear whether the emergence of CXCR4-using HIV is a consequence or a cause of immunodeficiency. CXCR4 is upregulated during the implantation window in natural and Hormone Replacement Therapy cycles in the endometrium, producing, in presence of a human blastocyst, a surface polarization of the CXCR4 receptors suggesting that this receptor is implicated in the adhesion phase of human implantation.