TheCXCL12/CXCR4 signaling pathway is involved in the development of numerous neuronal and non-neuronal structures. Recent work established that the atypical second CXCL12 receptor, CXCR7, is essential for the proper migration of interneuron precursors in the developing cerebral cortex. Two CXCR7-mediated functions were proposed in this process: direct modulation of β-arrestin-mediated signaling...

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is characterized by insufficient vasculogenic response to ischemia, which is typically accompanied by dysfunction of endothelial outgrowth cells (EOCs). CXC chemokine receptor 7 (CXCR7) is a key modulator of the neovascularization of EOCs to perfusion defect area. However, the mechanism underlying the role of EOCs in CAD-related abnormal vasculogenesis is still not...

The chemokine Cxcl12 binds Cxcr4 and Cxcr7 receptors to control cell migration in multiple biological contexts, including brain development, leukocyte trafficking, and tumorigenesis. Both receptors are expressed in the CNS, but how they cooperate during migration has not been elucidated. Here, we used the migration of cortical interneurons as a model to study this process. We found that Cxcr4 a...

Differentiation of oligodendroglial precursor cells (OPCs), a crucial prerequisite for central nervous system (CNS) remyelination in diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), is modulated by a multitude of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. In a previous study we revealed that the chemokine CXCL12 stimulates rodent OPC differentiation via activation of its receptor CXCR7. We could now demonstrate...

In inflammatory sites, high molecular weight hyaluronan fragments are degraded into lower molecular weight hyaluronan fragments (LMW-HA) to regulate immune responses. However, the function of LMW-HA in PTC progression remains to be elucidated. In this study, we found that receptor of LMW-HA, TLR4, was aberrantly overexpressed in PTC tissues and cell line W3. Exposure of W3 cells to LMW-HA promo...

miR-101 is significantly downregulated in various human cancers, including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the role of miR-101 in OSCC has not been elucidated. In this study, miR-101 lowly expressed in OSCC tissues and cell lines compared with that in adjacent normal tissues and human normal oral keratinocyte cells. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that miR-101 could potentially ...

Neuroblastoma (NB) is one of the most deadly solid tumors of the young child, for which new efficient and targeted therapies are strongly needed. The CXCR4/CXCR7/CXCL12 chemokine axis has been involved in the progression and organ-specific dissemination of various cancers. In NB, CXCR4 expression was shown to be associated to highly aggressive undifferentiated tumors, while CXCR7 expression was...

Rhabdomyosarcomas (RMS) express CXCR4 and CXCR7 receptors that bind prometastatic alpha-chemokine stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1). In this report, we analyzed the activity of both promoters in a model of less metastatic human embryonal-RMS cell line (RD) and more metastatic alveolar-like RMS (RD cells transduced with paired box gene 3/forkhead homologue; PAX3-FKHR fusion gene). First, CXCR4 is...

Abstract Exercise mobilizes angiogenic cells, which stimulate vascular repair. However, limited research suggests exercise-induced increase of endothelial progenitor cell (EPCs) is completely lacking in type 1 diabetes (T1D). Clarification, along with investigating how T1D influences increases other cells (hematopoietic cells; HPCs) and surface expression chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) 7 (CXCR7),...

The chemokine CXCL12/stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and its receptor CXCR4 regulate migration and patterning processes during brain development, but also contribute to proliferation and expansion of gliomas, the most malignant brain tumors. Recently, a previous orphan-receptor CXCR7/RDC-1 was discovered to be a second receptor for CXCL12. C...