CCR4: Small Molecules and Peptides

CCR4 is a G protein-coupled receptor member of the CC chemokine subfamily of receptors. Human CCR4 is 360 amino acids (aa) in length with a predicted molecular weight of 41 kDa. Mouse and rat CCR4 share 87% aa sequence identity with the human protein. Most chemokine receptors exhibit promiscuous binding properties whereby several different chemokines signal through the same receptor. Chemokine ligand receptor binding results in G protein activation as well as the activation of downstream signaling cascades, including the Akt and NFkB pathways. Chemokine receptors mediate the chemotactic actions of chemokine ligands and activation of these receptors leads to cytoskeleton rearrangement and chemotactic cell migration.