Chemokines as relay signals in human dendritic cell migration: serum amyloid A kicks off chemotaxis

Cell migration is a response highly conserved in evolution. Chemotactic factors secreted in injured and inflamed tissues generate a concentration-based, chemotactic gradient that directs leukocytes from the blood compartment into tissue. In this issue of the European Journal of Immunology, Gouwy et al. [Eur. J. Immunol. 2015. 45: 101-112] show that the SAA1α isoform of serum amyloid A (SAA), which is an acute phase protein upregulated in inflammation and shown to chemoattract some leukocyte subsets, is also able to chemoattract monocyte-derived immature dendritic cells (DCs). The authors also show that the chemotactic activity of SAA1α for monocytes and DCs is indirectly mediated by rapid chemokine induction, providing evidence that proposes a new level of regulation of leukocyte migration.