BACKGROUND G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are prime candidates for novel cancer prevention and treatment strategies. We searched for differentially expressed GPCRs in node positive gastric carcinomas. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Differential expression of GPCRs in three node positive vs. three node negative intestinal type gastric carcinomas was analyzed by gene array technology. The ...

BACKGROUND The chemokine CXCL12 and its receptors CXCR4 and CXCR7 play important roles in cancer invasion and metastasis. This study investigated the mRNA expressions of CXCL12, CXCR4, and CXCR7 to illustrate the role of these biomarkers in breast cancer metastasis and prognosis. METHODS The mRNA expressions of CXCL12, CXCR4, and CXCR7 in 115 primary breast cancer and regional lymph node spec...

Chemokines, small proinflammatory chemoattractant cytokines that bind to specific G-protein-coupled seven-span transmembrane receptors, are major regulators of cell trafficking and adhesion. The chemokine CXCL12 [stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)] binds primarily to CXC receptor 4 (CXCR4; CD184). The binding of CXCL12 to CXCR4 induces intracellular signaling through several divergent pathwa...

BACKGROUND Chemokines play important roles in immune system activation against microbial infections. OBJECTIVES The current study aimed to evaluate seminal levels of CXC chemokines CXCL1, CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL12 in Chlamydia trachomatis infected patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS The C. trachomatis infection was determined employing Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based methods. Seminal conce...

In addition to its role as neurotransmitter, serotonin (5-HT) is an important modulator of inflammation and immunity. Here, we report novel findings suggesting a 5-HT involvement in T cell migration. In particular, we show that 5-HT tunes the responsiveness of human T lymphocytes to the broadly expressed chemokine CXCL12 in transwell migration assays. By real-time PCR, western blot analysis and...

Glutamatergic principal neurons, GABAergic interneurons and thalamocortical axons (TCAs) are essential elements of the cerebrocortical network. Principal neurons originate locally from radial glia and intermediate progenitors (IPCs), whereas interneurons and TCAs are of extrinsic origin. Little is known how the assembly of these elements is coordinated. C-X-C motif chemokine 12 (CXCL12), which ...

BACKGROUND CXCL12 is a small chemotactic cytokine belonging to the CXC chemokine family expressed in various organs. It contributes to the migration, invasion and angiogenesis of cancer cells. Recently, the CXCL12 G801A polymorphism was shown to be associated with an increased risk of various kinds of cancers, but the results were too inconsistent to be conclusive. METHODS To solve the proble...

More and more evidence indicates that the G801A polymorphism in the CXCL12 gene might be associated with susceptibility to breast carcinoma in humans being. However, individually published results have been inconsistent. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the association between the G801A polymorphism in the CXCL12 gene and breast carcinoma risk. A complete search strategy was...

CD26/dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPPIV) is a membrane-bound extracellular peptidase that cleaves dipeptides from the N terminus of polypeptide chains. The N terminus of chemokines is known to interact with the extracellular portion of chemokine receptors, and removal of these amino acids in many instances results in significant changes in functional activity. CD26/DPPIV has the ability to cleave th...

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are specialized lymphocytes that critical to preventing autoimmunity. In skin, Tregs also possess non-classical functions include promotion of hair growth and epidermal repair following superficial tissue injury. We showed a subset accumulate around follicles in murine human skin suggesting local interactions facilitate these functions. However, the chemotactic mechan...