**4. The Duffy glycoprotein as a receptor for chemokines**

The Duffy glycoprotein can bind to a variety of chemokines and is known commonly as the Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC) or more recently atypical chemokine receptor 1 (ACKR1). Chemokines are proteins secreted by immune cells as a mean to communicate signals to guide their interactions. The exact function of DARC is not fully clear. One postulated function is that DARC permits erythrocyte to act a chemokine scavenger to limit leukocyte activation. The importance of this function in inflammatory diseases is not well established [6, 19].
