OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on immune mediators dysregulation in severe infection after chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and its molecular mechanism. METHODS: Bone marrow or peripheral blood samples of 36 AML patients with severe infection (AML-SI) and 29 AML patients without infection (AML-NI) after chemotherapy were collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University from August 2022 to June 2023. In addition, the peripheral blood of 21 healthy subjects from the same period in our hospital was selected as the control group. The mRNA expressions of CXCL12, CXCR4 and CXCR7 were detected by RT-qPCR technology, and the levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α were detected by ELISA. Leukemia-derived THP-1 cells were selected and constructed as AML disease model. At the same time, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) from AML-SI patients were co-cultured with THP-1 cells and divided into Mono group and Co-culture group. THP-1 cells were treated with different concentration gradients of HCQ. The cell proliferation activity was subsequently detected by CCK-8 method and apoptosis was detected by Annexin V/PI double staining flow cytometry. ELISA was used to detect the changes of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels in the supernatant of the cell co-culture system, RT-qPCR was used to detect the mRNA expression changes of the core members of the CXCL12-CXCR4/7 regulatory axis, and Western blot was used to detect the expressions of apoptosis regulatory molecules and related signaling pathway proteins. RESULTS: CXCL12, CXCR4, CXCR7, as well as IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were all abnormally increased in AML patients, and the increases were more significant in AML-SI patients (P <0.01). Furthermore, there were statistically significant differences between AML-NI patients and AML-SI patients (all P <0.05). HCQ could inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of THP-1 cells, but the low concentration of HCQ had no significant effect on the killing of THP-1 cells. When THP-1 cells were co-cultured with BM-MSCs of AML patients, the levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in the supernatance of Co-culture group were significantly higher than those of Mono group (all P <0.01). After HCQ intervention, the levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in cell culture supernatant of Mono group were significantly decreased compared with those before intervention (all P <0.01). Similarly, those of Co-culture group were also significantly decreased (all P <0.001). However, the expression of the core members of the CXCL12-CXCR4/7 regulatory axis was weakly affected by HCQ. HCQ could up-regulate the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bax, down-regulate the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, as well as simultaneously promote the hydrolytic activation of Caspase-3 when inhibiting the activation level of TLR4/NF-κB pathway, then induce the programmed death of THP-1 cells after intervention. CONCLUSION The core members of CXCL12-CXCR4/7 axis and related cytokines may be important mediators of severe infectious immune disorders in AML patients. HCQ can inhibit cytokine levels to reverse immune mediators dysregulation and suppress malignant biological characteristics of leukemia cells. The mechanisms may be related to regulating the expression of Bcl-2 family proteins, hydrolytically activating Caspase-3 and inhibiting the activation of TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.
Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/immunology* ; Hydroxychloroquine/pharmacology* ; Receptors, CXCR4/metabolism* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Chemokine CXCL12/metabolism* ; Interleukin-8/metabolism* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Receptors, CXCR/metabolism* ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; THP-1 Cells

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the enhancement of macrophage chemotaxis in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and its correlation with the disease severity. METHODS: Eighty patients with KOA admitted from July 2019 to June 2022 were enrolled as the observation group and divided into 29 cases of moderate group, 30 cases of severe group and 21 cases of extremely severe group. At the same time, 30 healthy subjects were included as the control group. The gene expressions of NF-κB, CXC chemokine receptor 7 (CXCR7) and CXC chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12) in macrophages of each group were analyzed. Visual analogue scale(VAS) was used to evaluate the degree of joint pain. Joint function was evaluated by knee Joint Society Scoring system(KSS). Finally, data analysis was carried out. RESULTS: The expression levels of NF-κB, CXCR7 and CXCL12 in moderate group, severe group and extreme recombination group were higher than those in control group. The VAS, the expression of NF-κB, CXCR7 and CXCL12 in the severe group and the extreme recombination group were higher than those in the moderate group, whereas KSS was lower than that in the moderate group. The VAS, expression levels of NF-κB, CXCR7 and CXCL12 in the extremely severe group were higher than those in the severe group, and KSS was lower than that in the severe group (all P<0.01). The expression levels of NF-κB, CXCR7 and CXCL12 in macrophages were positively correlated with VAS score, but negatively correlated with KSS(all P<0.01). The expression levels of NF-κB, CXCR7 and CXCL12 in macrophages were positively correlated with the severity of disease. After excluding the influence of traditional factors (gender, age and disease duration), multiple linear regression analysis further showed that the expression levels of NF-κB, CXCR7 and CXCL12 were still positively correlated with the severity of disease(all P<0.01). CONCLUSION The chemotaxis of macrophages in patients with KOA increased with the aggravation of the disease, and was related to the degree of pain and function impairment.
Humans ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/genetics* ; Chemotaxis/genetics* ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Macrophages/metabolism* ; Receptors, CXCR/metabolism* ; Patient Acuity

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effects of mangiferin combined with bortezomib on the proliferation, invasion, apoptosis and autophagy of human Burkitt lymphoma Raji cells, as well as the expression of CXC chemokine receptors (CXCRs) family, and explore the molecular mechanism between them to provide scientific basis for basic research and clinical work of Burkitt lymphoma. METHODS: Raji cells were intervened with different concentrations of mangiferin and bortezomib alone or in combination, then cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay, cell invasion ability was detected by Transwell chamber method, cell apoptosis was detected by Annexin V/PI double-staining flow cytometry, apoptosis, autophagy and Akt/mTOR pathway protein expression were detected by Western blot, and the expression changes of CXCR family was detected by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). RESULTS: Different concentrations of mangiferin intervened Raji cells for different time could inhibit cell viability in a concentration- and time-dependent manner (r =-0.682, r =-0.836). When Raji cells were intervened by combination of mangiferin and bortezomib, compared with single drug group, the proliferation and invasion abilities were significantly decreased, while the apoptosis level was significantly increased (P <0.01). Mangiferin combined with bortezomib could significantly up-regulate the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bax and down-regulate the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 after intervention in Raji cells. Caspase-3 was also hydrolyzed and activated, and then induced the apoptosis of Raji cells. Mangiferin combined with bortezomib could up-regulate the expression of LC3Ⅱ protein in Raji cells, and the ratio of LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ in cells was significantly up-regulated compared with single drug or control group (P <0.01). Mangiferin combined with bortezomib could significantly inhibit the phosphorylation levels of Akt and mTOR, inhibit the proliferation and invasion of Raji cells by inhibiting Akt/mTOR pathway, and induce cell autophagy and apoptosis. Mangiferin and bortezomib could down-regulate the expressions of CXCR4 and CXCR7 mRNA after single-agent intervention in Raji cells, and the down-regulations of CXCR4 and CXCR7 mRNA expression were more significant when the two drugs were combined (P <0.01). Mangiferin alone or combined with bortezomib had no significant effect on CXCR5 mRNA expression in Raji cells (P >0.05), while the combination of the two drugs could down-regulate the expression of CXCR3 (P <0.05). CONCLUSION Mangiferin combined with bortezomib can synergistically inhibit the proliferation and invasion of Raji cells, and induce autophagy and apoptosis. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition of Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, down-regulation of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and up-regulation of pro-apoptotic protein Bax, and the inhibition of the expression of CXCR family.
Humans ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins/immunology* ; Autophagy/immunology* ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein/immunology* ; Bortezomib/therapeutic use* ; Burkitt Lymphoma/immunology* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; Receptors, CXCR/immunology* ; RNA, Messenger ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases ; Xanthones/therapeutic use*

BACKGROUND: Chemokine receptor CXC chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and its ligand CXC motif chemokine 12 (CXCL12; stromal cell-derived factor-1) are implicated in tumor growth, metastasis, and tumor cell-microenvironment interaction. A number of studies have reported that increased CXCR4 expression is associated with worse prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), but its prognostic significance has not been studied in TNBC patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: Two hundred eighty-three TNBC patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. Tissue microarray was constructed from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue and immunohistochemistry for CXCR4 and CXCL12 was performed. Expression of each marker was compared with clinicopathologic characteristics and outcome. RESULTS: High cytoplasmic CXCR4 expression was associated with younger age (p = .008), higher histologic grade (p = .007) and lower pathologic stage (p = .045), while high CXCL12 expression was related to larger tumor size (p = .045), positive lymph node metastasis (p = .005), and higher pathologic stage (p = .017). The patients with high cytoplasmic CXCR4 experienced lower distant recurrence (p = .006) and better recurrence-free survival (RFS) (log-rank p = .020) after adjuvant chemotherapy. Cytoplasmic CXCR4 expression remained an independent factor of distant recurrence (p = .019) and RFS (p = .038) after multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: High cytoplasmic CXCR4 expression was associated with lower distant recurrence and better RFS in TNBC patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. This is the first study to correlate high CXCR4 expression to better TNBC prognosis, and the underlying mechanism needs to be elucidated in further studies.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cytoplasm ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymph Nodes ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Receptors, CXCR ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms

BACKGROUND: Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) and CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) have emerged as potential biomarkers in various human cancers. The aims of this study were to investigate the clinical characteristics of anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) patients according to the TAM numbers in the tumor tissue, and to evaluate the associations between CXCR4 expressions and macrophage densities in ATC tumor microenvironment. METHODS: Total 14 ATC samples from thyroid tissue microarray were used. Immunohistochemical staining was performed using anti-CD163 and anti-CXCR4 antibodies. According to the immunoreactivity of CD163, all subjects were divided into two groups: low-CD163 (n=8) and high-CD163 (n=6) groups. RESULTS: The mean diagnostic age was 65±7 years and the median tumor size was 4.3 cm, ranging 2.5 to 15 cm. Clinicopathological characteristics were not significantly different between low-CD163 and high-CD163 groups, while age of diagnosis was younger in high-CD163 group than that of low-CD163 group with marginal significance (56.9±5.5 years vs. 67.5±6.8 years, P=0.09). However, overall survival was significantly reduced in high-CD163 group (5.5 months [range, 1 to 10]) compared with low-CD163 groups (8.8 months [range, 6 to 121); log-rank test, P=0.0443). Moreover, high-CD163 group showed strong CXCR4 expressions in both cancer and stromal compartments, while low-CD163 group showed relatively weak, stromal-dominant CXCR4 expressions. Additionally, CD163 and CXCR4 expressions showed a strong positive correlation (γ²=0.432, P=0.013). CONCLUSION: Increased number of TAMs showed poor overall survival in ATC, suggesting TAMs are potentially a prognostic biomarker for ATC. CXCR4 expression was significantly correlated with CD163-positive TAM densities, which suggest the possible role of CXCR4 in TAM recruitments.
Antibodies ; Biomarkers ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Macrophages* ; Receptors, CXCR* ; Receptors, CXCR4* ; Thyroid Carcinoma, Anaplastic* ; Thyroid Gland ; Tumor Microenvironment

INTRODUCTIONC-X-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CXCR7) has recently been characterised as a novel receptor for the C-X-C motif chemokine 12 (CXCL12)/stromal cell-derived factor 1-alpha. CXCR7 has been thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis, angiogenesis and tumour metastasis. The present study aimed to examine the expression of CXCR7 in tissue samples of laryngeal cancer and maxillary sinus carcinoma to determine its role in the development of otorhinolaryngologic neoplasms.

METHODSSamples of otorhinolaryngologic neoplasms were obtained from 17 patients with either nasal polyps (n = 7), laryngeal cancer (n = 5) or maxillary sinus carcinoma (n = 5), and who underwent surgical resection at West China Hospital of Sichuan University. Total RNA was isolated and CXCR7 mRNA expression was examined and quantified by relative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. A one-way analysis of variance was performed using SPSS Statistics version 11.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA) to compare the CXCR7 mRNA levels among the three groups of patients.

RESULTSAll samples tested positive for CXCR7 mRNA. The quantitative results showed that the CXCR7 mRNA levels were highest in laryngeal cancer and lowest in maxillary sinus carcinoma neoplasms, although there was no significant difference among the three samples.

CONCLUSIONCXCL12 and its receptor CXCR7 may contribute to eosinophilic inflammation in patients with chronic sinusitis and nasal polyps. Our results also suggest that CXCR7 may play a role in the progression, metastasis and angiogenesis of otorhinolaryngologic tumours.

Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Otorhinolaryngologic Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA, Neoplasm ; genetics ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, CXCR ; biosynthesis ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression status of CXCR7 in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines.

METHODSThe expression status of CXCR7 was detected in 35 primary gastric cancer tissues and matched adjacent tissues by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. The correlation of CXCR7 expression with the clinicopathological parameters and risk factors of gastric cancer was analyzed. The expression of CXCR7 in gastric cell lines (HGC-27, MGC-803, BGC-823, SGC-7901 and MKN-28) was also detected by immunofluorescence assay.

RESULTSThe expression of CXCR7 was significantly higher in gastric cancer tissues than in adjacent tissues (P<0.01). CXCR7 expression was not correlated with age, gender, smoking history, Helicobacter pylori infection, tumor location or the pathological type, but showed a higher expression level in patients with a alcohol-drinking history than in those without (P<0.05). CXCR7 was expressed with variable intensities in the 5 gastric cancer cell lines without correlation with the degrees of cell differentiation; its expression was the highest in SGC-7901 cells, a moderately differentiated human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line.

CONCLUSIONSCXCR7 is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues with variable intensities in 5 gastric cancer cell lines, suggesting its important role in gastric cancer progression.

Cell Differentiation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Disease Progression ; Helicobacter Infections ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Receptors, CXCR ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Stomach Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo construct a soluble prokaryotic expression vector of the CXCR7-specific antagonist SDF-1/54R and evaluate its activity.

METHODSSDF-1/54r gene amplified by PCR was inserted into the soluble expression vector pET-41a+ engineered with GST fusion tag, and the recombinant vector was transformed into E. coli strain BL21 (DE3). After IPTG induction of E. coli, the expressed recombinant protein was purified with GST affinity chromatography purification system and confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting assay. The target protein SDF-1/54R was obtained after digestion of the purified product with enterokinase. Breast cancer MCF-7 cells with high expression of CXCR7 was treated with SDF-1/54R and the cell proliferation and metastasis was evaluated with MTT and chemotaxis assays.

RESULTSThe target protein SDF-1/54R obtained showed an obvious inhibitory effect on the proliferation and metastasis of MCF-7 cells as confirmed by MTT and chemotaxis assays.

CONCLUSIONSDF-1/54R is a good antagonist of CXCR7 and shows a potential value as an effective anti-cancer agent.

Blotting, Western ; Chemokine CXCL12 ; metabolism ; Chromatography, Affinity ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Escherichia coli ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, CXCR ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis

Acute kidney injury is a serious global health problem and determinant of morbidity and mortality. Recent advancements in the field of stem cell research raise hopes for stem cell-based regenerative approaches to treat acute kidney diseases. In this review, the authors summarized the latest research advances of the adult resident renal progenitor cells (ARPCs) on kidney repair, the role of ARPCs on tubular regeneration after acute kidney injury, the current understanding of the mechanisms related to ARPC activation and modulation, as well as the challenges that remain to be faced.
Acute Kidney Injury ; physiopathology ; Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Kidney ; physiopathology ; Kidney Tubules ; physiopathology ; Receptors, CXCR ; metabolism ; Regeneration ; physiology ; Reperfusion Injury ; physiopathology ; Stem Cells ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of CXCR7 knock-down by CXCR7-shRNA lentiviral vector on the proliferation and invasion of human hepatoma carcinoma cells in vitro.

METHODSCXCR7-shRNA lentiviral vector was transfected into hepatocellular carcinoma HCCLM3 cells. The changes in mRNA and protein expression of CXCR7 in the transfected cells were investigated using real-time PCR and Western blotting, respectively, and MTT assay was employed to assess the cell proliferation changes. In vitro adhesion assay and transwell chamber test were used to observe the adhesion and invasiveness of HCCLM3 cells, respectively.

RESULTSTransfection of HCCLM3 cells with CXCR7-shRNA lentiviral vector resulted in a significantly decreased expression of CXCR7 at both mRNA and protein levels (P<0.01) and obvious suppression of the cell proliferative activity (P<0.05). CXCR7-shRNA also significantly suppressed the invasiveness and adhesion of HCCLM3 cells (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONCXCR7 knock-down can significantly inhibit the proliferation and invasiveness of human hepatoma carcinoma cells in vitro, suggesting the value of CXCR7 as a potential target for hepatoma carcinoma therapy.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; genetics ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Lentivirus ; genetics ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; Receptors, CXCR ; genetics ; Transfection