CXCL12及受体CXCR4在胆管癌中的表达及其临床意义

目的:探讨趋化因子CXCLl2及其受体CXCR4在胆管癌中的表达及与临床病理特征、预后的关系.方法:采用免疫组化SP法检测10例正常胆管、61例胆管癌(19例肝门部胆管癌、42例胆总管中下段癌)组织中CXCL12和CXCR4蛋白的表达.结果:正常胆管中无CXCL12和CXCR4蛋白的表达,胆管癌的CXCL12和CXCR4蛋白的表达分别为88%和53%,有转移的胆管癌中CXCR4蛋白的表达为94%,显著高于无转移组.相关性分析显示CXCR4蛋白的表达与肿瘤是否转移有关,与肿瘤复发时间及存活时间有关.结论:CXCR4可以作为判断胆管癌恶性程度高低及预后的指标之一.     

趋化因子CXCL12及其受体CXCR4与肿瘤的关系

趋化因子是一组具有趋化作用的细胞因子,最近研究发现趋化因子CXCL12及其受体CXCR4与多种肿瘤的侵袭和转移密切相关,该文就CXCL12及CXCR4的生物学特性、在肿瘤侵袭及淋巴结转移中的作用特征及作用机制等方面进行综述,从而为肿瘤转移防治提供依据。     

Chemokine receptor trio: CXCR3, CXCR4 and CXCR7 crosstalk via CXCL11 and CXCL12

Although chemokines are well established to function in immunity and endothelial cell activation and proliferation, a rapidly growing literature suggests that CXC Chemokine receptors CXCR3, CXCR4 and CXCR7 are critical in the development and progression of solid tumors. The effect of these chemokine receptors in tumorigenesis is mediated via interactions with shared ligands I-TAC (CXCL11) and SDF-1 (CXCL12). Over the last decade, CXCR4 has been extensively reported to be overexpressed in most human solid tumors and has earned considerable attention toward elucidating its role in cancer metastasis. To enrich the existing armamentarium of anti-cancerous agents, many inhibitors of CXCL12–CXCR4 axis have emerged as additional or alternative agents for neo-adjuvant treatments and even many of them are in preclinical and clinical stages of their development. However, the discovery of CXCR7 as another receptor for CXCL12 with rather high binding affinity and recent reports about its involvement in cancer progression, has questioned the potential of “selective blockade” of CXCR4 as cancer chemotherapeutics. Interestingly, CXCR7 can also bind another chemokine CXCL11, which is an established ligand for CXCR3. Recent reports have documented that CXCR3 and their ligands are overexpressed in different solid tumors and regulate tumor growth and metastasis. Therefore, it is important to consider the interactions and crosstalk between these three chemokine receptors and their ligand mediated signaling cascades for the development of effective anti-cancer therapies. Emerging evidence also indicates that these receptors are differentially expressed in tumor endothelial cells as well as in cancer stem cells, suggesting their direct role in regulating tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. In this review, we will focus on the signals mediated by this receptor trio via their shared ligands and their role in tumor growth and progression.     

Chemokine Receptor CXCR7 Is a Functional Receptor for CXCL12 in Brain Endothelial Cells

The chemokine CXCL12 regulates multiple cell functions through its receptor, CXCR4. However, recent studies have shown that CXCL12 also binds a second receptor, CXCR7, to potentiate signal transduction and cell activity. In contrast to CXCL12/CXCR4, few studies have focused on the role of CXCR7 in vascular biology and its role in human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) remains unclear. In this report, we used complementary methods, including immunocytofluorescence, Western blot, and flow cytometry analyses, to demonstrate that CXCR7 was expressed on HBMECs. We then employed short hairpin RNA (shRNA) technology to knockdown CXCR7 in HBMECs. Knockdown of CXCR7 in HBMECs resulted in significantly reduced HBMEC proliferation, tube formation, and migration, as well as adhesion to matrigel and tumor cells. Blocking CXCR7 with a specific antibody or small molecule antagonist similarly disrupted HBMEC binding to matrigel or tumor cells. We found that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α induced CXCR7 in a time and dose-response manner and that this increase preceded an increase in vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). Knockdown of CXCR7 resulted in suppression of VCAM-1, suggesting that the reduced binding of CXCR7-knockdown HBMECs may result from suppression of VCAM-1. Collectively, CXCR7 acted as a functional receptor for CXCL12 in brain endothelial cells. Targeting CXCR7 in tumor vasculature may provide novel opportunities for improving brain tumor therapy.     

Structural Basis of the Interaction between Chemokine Stromal Cell-derived Factor-1/CXCL12 and Its G-protein-coupled Receptor CXCR4

The chemokine stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1/CXCL12) and its G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) CXCR4 play fundamental roles in many physiological processes, and CXCR4 is a drug target for various diseases such as cancer metastasis and human immunodeficiency virus, type 1, infection. However, almost no structural information about the SDF-1-CXCR4 interaction is available, mainly because of the difficulties in expression, purification, and crystallization of CXCR4. In this study, an extensive investigation of the preparation of CXCR4 and optimization of the experimental conditions enables NMR analyses of the interaction between the full-length CXCR4 and SDF-1. We demonstrated that the binding of an extended surface on the SDF-1 β-sheet, 50-s loop, and N-loop to the CXCR4 extracellular region and that of the SDF-1 N terminus to the CXCR4 transmembrane region, which is critical for G-protein signaling, take place independently by methyl-utilizing transferred cross-saturation experiments along with the usage of the CXCR4-selective antagonist AMD3100. Furthermore, based upon the data, we conclude that the highly dynamic SDF-1 N terminus in the 1st step bound state plays a crucial role in efficiently searching the deeply buried binding pocket in the CXCR4 transmembrane region by the “fly-casting” mechanism. This is the first structural analyses of the interaction between a full-length GPCR and its chemokine, and our methodology would be applicable to other GPCR-ligand systems, for which the structural studies are still challenging.     

CXCR6/CXCL16 functions as a regulator in metastasis and progression of cancer

Metastasis is considered the obvious mark for most aggressive cancers. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism of the regulation of cancer metastasis. Recent evidence increasingly suggests that the interaction between chemokines and chemokine receptors is pivotal in the process of metastasis. The chemokine receptor CXCR4 and its ligand CXCL12, for example, have been reported to play a vital role in cancer metastasis. Another chemokine and chemokine receptor pair, the CXCL16/CXCR6 axis, has been studied by several independent research groups. Here, we summarize recent advances in our knowledge of the function of CXC chemokine receptor CXCR6 and its ligand CXCL16 in regulating metastasis and invasion of cancer. CXCR6 and CXCL16 are up-regulated in multiple cancer tissue types and cancer cell lines relative to normal tissues and cell lines. In addition, both CXCR6 and CXCL16 levels increase as tumor malignancy increases. Trans-membranous CXCL16 chemokine reduces proliferation while soluble CXCL16 chemokine enhances proliferation and migration. TM-CXCL16 functions as an inducer for lymphocyte build-up around tumor sites. High trans-membranous CXCL16 expression correlates with a good prognosis. Moreover, the Akt/mTOR signal pathway is involved in activating the CXCR6/CXCL16 axis. These findings suggest multiple opportunities for blocking the CXCR6/CXCL16 axis and the Akt/mTOR signal pathway in novel cancer therapies.     

趋化因子CXCL16与临床疾病

趋化因子在T细胞迁移过程中起重要作用,CXCL16是作为磷脂酰丝氨酸和ox-LDL的清道夫受体的多功能趋化因子。血管内皮细胞同时表达功能性地分泌型和膜结合型CXCL16分子,分泌型CXCL16参与激活T淋巴细胞趋化。膜结合型CXCL16作为粘附分子,通过它的趋化因子活性区参与活化T淋巴细胞与血管内皮细胞之间的识别和直接粘附;促进大量的特异性炎症细胞浸润。研究证明趋化因子CXCL16在多种临床疾病中扮演起重要作用。本文综述了CXCL16与临床疾病的关系及其研究进展。     

趋化因子SD-1及其受体CXCR4在卵巢癌中的研究进展

基质细胞衍生因子-1(Stromal cell derived factor-1,SDF-1)是CXC趋化因子家族的重要成员,系统命名为CXCL12,能与它的唯一受体CXC趋化因子受体-4(CXC chemokine receptor-4,CXCR4)形成CXCL12-CXCR4生物学轴,CXCL12-CXCR4生物学轴在肿瘤生长、侵袭、转移过程中发生重要作用。到目前为止,已发现CXCL12-CXCR4在卵巢癌、胰腺癌、肝癌等多种肿瘤组织中表达。然而,国内目前还没有关于CXCL12-CXCR4与卵巢癌关系的相关综述,本文将从趋化因子CXCL12及其受体CXCR4,CXCL12/CXCR4轴与卵巢癌细胞系实验研究,CXCL12-CXCR4轴与卵巢癌的临床研究,CXCL12/CXCR4与卵巢癌预后,CXCL12/CXCR4与卵巢癌治疗展望等五个方面对CXCL12-CXCR4生物轴与卵巢癌的关系,及其在卵巢癌治疗中的应用展开综述。     

CXCL16 Promotes Gastric Cancer Tumorigenesis via ADAM10-Dependent CXCL16/CXCR6 Axis and Activates Akt and MAPK Signaling Pathways

Abnormal expression of CXC motif chemokine ligand 16 (CXCL16) has been demonstrated to be associated with tumor progression and metastasis, served as a prognostic factor in many cancers, with higher relative expression behaving as a marker of tumor progression. However, its role and mechanisms underlying progression and metastasis of gastric cancer (GC) are yet to be elucidated. In our investigation, public datasets and human GC tissue samples were used to determine the CXCL16 expression levels. Our results revealed that CXCL16 was upregulated in GC. The high expression CXCL16 in GC was significantly associated with histologic poor differentiation and pTNM staging. And high CXCL16 was positively correlated with the poor survival of GC patients. Gain-and loss-of-function experiments were employed to investigate the biological role of CXCL16 in proliferation and migration both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed that the epithelial‑mesenchymal transition (EMT), Akt and MAPK signal pathway related genes were significantly enriched in the high CXCL16 group, which was confirmed by western blot. Moreover, overexpression CXCL16 promoted the disintegrin and metalloproteases (ADAM10) and the CXC motif chemokine receptor 6 (CXCR6) expression, which mediated the CXCL16/CXCR6 positive feedback loop in GC, with activating Akt and MAPK signaling pathways. Knocking down ADAM10 would interrupted the CXCL16/CXCR6 axis in the carcinogenesis and progression of GC. In conclusion, our findings offered insights into that CXCL16 promoted GC tumorigenesis by enhancing ADAM10-dependent CXCL16/CXCR6 axis activation.     

人趋化因子受体CXCR4基因的克隆及原核表达

目的:构建人CXCR4原核表达载体并在大肠杆菌中进行表达。方法:从健康人外周血单个核细胞提取总RNA,以RT-PCR获得CXCR4基因全长1059bp的完整编码序列,将其克隆入载体pMD-18T中,经限制性内切酶和菌落PCR分析并测序证实的阳性重组子与表达载体pET-28a( )连接并转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)。结果:12%SDS-PAGE分析表明,在30℃以IPTG诱导获得分子量为43ku的His-CXCR4融合蛋白表达带,诱导4h后此蛋白表达量约为全菌总蛋白的25%。结论:成功获得人CXCR4基因融合蛋白。     

D6——神秘的趋化因子诱饵受体

趋化因子可能受神经、激素、酶及结合蛋白等的调节,D6是继DARC之后发现的另一种特殊的趋化因子诱饵性结合蛋白。D6不仅为炎性CC族趋化因子的转录后调控所必需,在肿瘤等人类疾病中的作用也引人注目。     

The EPH Receptor Bs (EPHBs) Promoters are Unmethylated in Colon and Ovarian Cancers

Aberrant expression of EPH receptors and their ligands, ephrins, has been reported in a large variety of human cancers, including epithelial cancers from the colon and ovary. Due to the recently reported decrease or loss of EPHBs expression in colorectal carcinomas and the abundance of CpG sites in their promoters, we analyzed the promoter methylation status of three members of the EPHB family, EPHB2, EPHB3 and EPHB4, in a series of 22 colon cancer cell lines, as well as in four ovarian cancer cell lines and 56 ovarian tumor samples. The promoters of the three receptor genes were unmethylated in the vast majority of samples as assessed by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP). These results were confirmed by direct bisulphite sequencing. Furthermore, from RT-PCR analyzes and Northern blotting, EPHB2 showed only small variation in RNA expression across ovarian cancer cell lines and clinical samples. We conclude that promoter hypermethylation of EPHB2, EPHB3 and EPHB4 is not a common event in colon and ovarian cancers, and therefore plays no major role in these tumors.     

趋化因子受体CXCR4b在大肠杆菌中的高效表达、增溶及纯化

膜蛋白在细胞分化、信号转导等生理活动中发挥着重要作用,然而膜蛋白结构与功能的研究却受到高质量蛋白制备的严重制约。将斑马鱼趋化因子受体CXCR4b基因克隆到pMAL-p4x表达载体中,在大肠杆菌TB1中表达麦芽糖结合蛋白(MBP)-CXCR4b融合蛋白。通过系统优化其发酵表达条件,实现了CXCR4b的过量表达。最佳表达条件为:宿主菌选用大肠杆菌TB1,TB培养基,诱导剂IPTG浓度为0.5mmol/L,诱导时机为对数中后期。通过对10种不同表面活性剂的筛选,发现DM、FC-14和Brij35等表面活性剂对CXCR4b有较好的增溶效果。利用Ni2+亲和色谱和S200凝胶色谱两步纯化,得到CXCR4b的纯度可达90%以上。圆二色谱检测显示纯化的CXCR4b呈典型的α螺旋结构。     

The Function of the Chemokine Receptor CXCR6 in the T Cell Response of Mice against Listeria monocytogenes

The chemokine receptor CXCR6 is expressed on different T cell subsets and up-regulated following T cell activation. CXCR6 has been implicated in the localization of cells to the liver due to the constitutive expression of its ligand CXCL16 on liver sinusoidal endothelial cells. Here, we analyzed the role of CXCR6 in CD8⁺ T cell responses to infection of mice with Listeria monocytogenes. CD8⁺ T cells responding to listerial antigens acquired high expression levels of CXCR6. However, deficiency of mice in CXCR6 did not impair control of the L. monocytogenes infection. CXCR6-deficient mice were able to generate listeria-specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cell responses and showed accumulation of T cells in the infected liver. In transfer assays, we detected reduced accumulation of listeria-specific CXCR6-deficient CD8⁺ T cells in the liver at early time points post infection. Though, CXCR6 was dispensable at later time points of the CD8⁺ T cell response. When transferred CD8⁺ T cells were followed for extended time periods, we observed a decline in CXCR6-deficient CD8⁺ T cells. The manifestation of this cell loss depended on the tissue analyzed. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that CXCR6 is not required for the formation of a T cell response to L. monocytogenes and for the accumulation of T cells in the infected liver but CXCR6 appears to influence long-term survival and tissue distribution of activated cells.     

The Chemokine Receptor CXCR4 and c-MET Cooperatively Promote Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Gastric Cancer Cells

The C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) pathway can promote tumor metastasis but is dependent on cross talk with other signaling pathways. The MET proto-oncogene (c-MET) participates in metastasis and is highly expressed in gastric cancer. However, the relationship between CXCR4 and c-MET signaling and their mechanisms of action in gastric cancer metastasis remain unclear. In this study, in vitro experiments demonstrated that C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12)/CXCR4 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and promotes migration in gastric cancer cells, which is accompanied by c-MET activation. These phenomena were reversed by c-MET inhibition. Further investigation revealed that c-MET activation correlated with its interaction with caveolin 1 in lipid rafts, induced by CXCL12. In clinical samples, we observed a significant positive association between CXCR4 expression and c-MET phosphorylation (r = 0.259, P = .005). Moreover, samples expressing both receptors were found to indicate significantly poorer patient prognosis (P < .001). These results suggest that CXCL12 induces EMT at least partially through cross talk between CXCR4 and c-MET signaling. In addition, changes in these pathways could have clinical importance for the treatment of gastric cancer.     

CXCR7 Functions as a Scavenger for CXCL12 and CXCL11

Background

CXCR7 (RDC1), the recently discovered second receptor for CXCL12, is phylogenetically closely related to chemokine receptors, but fails to couple to G-proteins and to induce typical chemokine receptor mediated cellular responses. The function of CXCR7 is controversial. Some studies suggest a signaling activity in mammalian cells and zebrafish embryos, while others indicate a decoy activity in fish. Here we investigated the two propositions in human tissues.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We provide evidence and mechanistic insight that CXCR7 acts as specific scavenger for CXCL12 and CXCL11 mediating effective ligand internalization and targeting of the chemokine cargo for degradation. Consistently, CXCR7 continuously cycles between the plasma membrane and intracellular compartments in the absence and presence of ligand, both in mammalian cells and in zebrafish. In accordance with the proposed activity as a scavenger receptor CXCR7-dependent chemokine degradation does not become saturated with increasing ligand concentrations. Active CXCL12 sequestration by CXCR7 is demonstrated in adult mouse heart valves and human umbilical vein endothelium.

Conclusions/Significance

The finding that CXCR7 specifically scavenges CXCL12 suggests a critical function of the receptor in modulating the activity of the ubiquitously expressed CXCR4 in development and tumor formation. Scavenger activity of CXCR7 might also be important for the fine tuning of the mobility of hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow and lymphoid organs.     

巨细胞病毒编码的趋化因子及其受体同源物

巨细胞病毒(CMV)属β疱疹病毒亚科,普遍存在于自然界.人巨细胞病毒(HCMV)是对人类具有致病性的CMV,在人群中的感染非常普遍,但大多数呈临床不显性感染或潜伏感染.CMV感染机体后,可调动多种机制逃逸正常机体的免疫监视,建立潜伏感染[1,2],这些机制包括下调MHC-Ⅰ和MHC-Ⅱ类基因的表达,编码MHC-Ⅰ同源物抑制NK细胞活性,以及编码趋化因子(chemokines,CKs)及其受体(chemokine receptors,CKPs)同源物干扰机体正常的免疫应答等.     

CXCL8和CXCR2在血管内皮细胞趋化外周血循环纤维细胞中的作用

目的:周皮细胞的分化在血管新生过程中具有重要作用,没有周皮细胞及其分泌组建的基底膜的支撑,毛细血管就没有正常的功能.作者以前的工作证明周皮细胞可能来源于外周血循环纤维细胞(PBFC),但血管内皮细胞如何趋化PBFC还不清楚.本实验重点观察CXCL8及其受体CXCR2在血管内皮细胞趋化PBFC中的作用.方法:分离纯化人PBFC后与人微血管内皮细胞(HDMEC)共培养,观察共培养条件下PBFC的形态学改变,并检测PBFC细胞内CXCR2 mRNA表达和HDMEC内CXCL8mRNA的表达.结果:与HDMEC共培养后,PBFC由梭形向菱形改变;HDMEC内的CXCL8 mRNA水平与PBFC共培养24小时后增高约10倍,培养后48小时仍维持在高水平;PBFC内的CXCR2 mRNA水平在共培养后24小时增高约3倍,且在培养后24小时仍维持在较高水平.结论:CXCL8/CXCR2可能参与了血管内皮细胞趋化PBFC的过程.     

Intracellular domains of CXCR3 that mediate CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 function

The chemokine receptor CXCR3 is a G protein-coupled receptor found predominantly on T cells that is activated by three ligands as follows: CXCL9 (Mig), CXCL10 (IP-10), and CXCL11 (I-TAC). Previously, we have found that of the three ligands, CXCL11 is the most potent inducer of CXCR3 internalization and is the physiologic inducer of CXCR3 internalization after T cell contact with activated endothelial cells. We have therefore hypothesized that these three ligands transduce different signals to CXCR3. In light of this hypothesis, we sought to determine whether regions of CXCR3 are differentially required for CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 function. Here we identified two distinct domains that contributed to CXCR3 internalization. The carboxyl-terminal domain and beta-arrestin1 were predominantly required by CXCL9 and CXCL10, and the third intracellular loop was predominantly required by CXCL11. Chemotaxis and calcium mobilization induced by all three CXCR3 ligands were dependent on the CXCR3 carboxyl terminus and the DRY sequence in the third trans-membrane domain. Our findings demonstrate that distinct domains of CXCR3 mediate its functions and suggest that the differential requirement of these domains contributes to the complexity of the chemokine system.