Scientists at Chemokine Therapeutics have studied a natural chemokine known as stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)* and its interaction with stem cells and mature blood cells. Imagine our blood vessels as vast networks of highways like our metropolitan cities; SDF-1 acts like a traffic cop, signaling stem cells to and from the bone marrow into the circulation and directing white blood cells to sites of inflammation and infection. When white cells are depleted, SDF-1 is essential in restoring these cells to normal levels. While these discoveries provide important insights into developing new drugs, the native SDF-1 protein is not suitable for development as a drug as it is unstable and rapidly cleared by the body.

Chemokine scientists have developed two synthetic versions of SDF-1 which are in the clinic. These drugs called CTCE-9908 and CTCE-0214 are small, stable peptides that can be readily manufactured. These two drugs function as remarkably different traffic cops;

CTCE-0214 acts like the "National Guard" assisting SDF-1 traffic cops in the restoration of the immune system and mobilization of stem cells in times of crisis, such as during the ravages of cancer chemotherapy.

CTCE-9908 is like a "SWAT team"; it has the potential to stop cancer cells from migrating from its primary origin to new distant sites, essentially putting cancer cells under "house arrest" without access to nutrients.

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*SDF-1 is also referred to as CXCL12