Clinical overview of leukocyte adhesion and migration: where are we now?

This article discusses the potential for clinical translation of the large amount of information on the molecular basis of leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions that has been collected over the last twenty years. Areas of current interest include the identification of adhesion molecule expression in inflammation by diagnostic imaging, understanding variability in inflammatory responsiveness and disease susceptibility through identification of adhesion molecule and chemokine polymorphisms and the application to the treatment of inflammatory diseases of monoclonal antibodies and conventional drugs with specific actions on leukocyte adhesion and migration.