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 ac...

The proinflammatory chemokine receptor CXCR7 that binds the ligands CXCL11 and CXCL12 (SDF-1a) is elevated in a variety of human cancers, but its functions are not understood as it does not elicit classical chemokine receptor signaling. Here we report that the procancerous cytokine IL-8 (interleukin-8) upregulates CXCR7 expression along with ligand-independent functions of CXCR7 that promote th...

BACKGROUND The C-X-C chemokine receptor 7 (CXCR7) has been shown to be a decoy receptor for CXCR4 in certain cell types. We investigated the expression status and functional roles of CXCR7 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells in vitro. METHODS CXCR7 mRNA was knocked down in AML cells by using small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology, and subsequent biological alterations in the cells were ev...

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 uncl...

Chemotactic cytokines (chemokines) attract immune cells, although their original evolutionary role may relate more closely with embryonic development. We noted differential expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR7 (RDC-1) on marginal zone B cells, a cell type associated with autoimmune diseases. We generated Cxcr7(-/-) mice but found that CXCR7 deficiency had little effect on B cell compositi...

Previous studies confirmed that stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) was a principal regulator of retention, migration and mobilization of haematopoietic stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) during steady-state homeostasis and injury. CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) has been considered as the unique receptor of SDF-1 and as the only mediator of SDF-1-induced biological effects f...

Malignant melanoma (MM) is a highly malignant skin tumor. The mechanism of MM pathogenesis and its signaling pathways are not well characterized. C-X-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CXCR7) has been reported to regulate cancer cell invasion. The present study sought to investigate the effects of CXCR7 on MM development. First, CXCR7 expression levels were assessed in the skin tumor tissue of patien...

Endometrium modulated by estrogen (E) and progesterone (P) is important for implantation and pregnancy. The present study compared the expression of chemokine CXCL12 and chemokine receptor CXCR4 and CXCR7 between human cycling and early pregnant endometria by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Then the modulation of E and P on expression of CXCL12, CXCR4 and CXCR7 in human endometrial stromal cells (E...

BACKGROUND Chemokines and their receptors are known to play important roles in the tumorigenesis of many malignancies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of the expression of the chemokine SDF-1 and its receptors CXCR4 and CXCR7 in patients with renal cell carcinoma. METHODS The expression of CXCR4, CXCR7 and SDF-1 in specimens from 97 renal cell carcinoma patients wa...

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a typical childhood and heterogeneous neoplasm for which efficient targeted therapies for high-risk tumors are not yet identified. The chemokine CXCL12, and its receptors CXCR4 and CXCR7 have been involved in tumor progression and dissemination. While CXCR4 expression is associated to undifferentiated tumors and poor prognosis, the role of CXCR7, the recently identified se...