CXCR5

Gene Summary

Gene:CXCR5; C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 5
Aliases: BLR1, CD185, MDR15
Location:11q23.3
Summary:This gene encodes a multi-pass membrane protein that belongs to the CXC chemokine receptor family. It is expressed in mature B-cells and Burkitt's lymphoma. This cytokine receptor binds to B-lymphocyte chemoattractant (BLC), and is involved in B-cell migration into B-cell follicles of spleen and Peyer patches. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2011]
Databases:OMIM, HGNC, Ensembl, GeneCard, Gene
Protein:C-X-C chemokine receptor type 5
Source:NCBIAccessed: 31 August, 2019

Ontology:

What does this gene/protein do?
Show (8)

Cancer Overview

Research Indicators

Publications Per Year (1994-2019)
Graph generated 31 August 2019 using data from PubMed using criteria.

Literature Analysis

Mouse over the terms for more detail; many indicate links which you can click for dedicated pages about the topic.

  • B-Cell Lymphoma
  • Risk Factors
  • Staging
  • Chemokine CXCL13
  • Lymph Nodes
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Messenger RNA
  • B-Lymphocytes
  • Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
  • Translocation
  • CD Antigens
  • Chemokines
  • Membrane Glycoproteins
  • Follicular Lymphoma
  • Genetic Predisposition
  • T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer
  • Up-Regulation
  • Breast Cancer
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • CD40 Antigens
  • Genotype
  • Receptors, CXCR5
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Chemokines, CXC
  • RTPCR
  • Flow Cytometry
  • p53 Protein
  • Chemotaxis
  • Cancer Gene Expression Regulation
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Cell Movement
  • Receptors, Chemokine
  • Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
  • Case-Control Studies
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes
  • Gene Expression
  • Mutation
  • Chromosome 11
  • Receptors, Cytokine
  • Single Nucleotide Polymorphism
Tag cloud generated 31 August, 2019 using data from PubMed, MeSH and CancerIndex

Specific Cancers (4)

Data table showing topics related to specific cancers and associated disorders. Scope includes mutations and abnormal protein expression.

Note: list is not exhaustive. Number of papers are based on searches of PubMed (click on topic title for arbitrary criteria used).

Latest Publications: CXCR5 (cancer-related)

Cabrero-de Las Heras S, Martínez-Balibrea E
CXC family of chemokines as prognostic or predictive biomarkers and possible drug targets in colorectal cancer.
World J Gastroenterol. 2018; 24(42):4738-4749 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in men and the second most common cancer in women, worldwide. In the early stages of the disease, biomarkers predicting early relapse would improve survival rates. In metastatic patients, the use of predictive biomarkers could potentially result in more personalized treatments and better outcomes. The CXC family of chemokines (CXCL1 to 17) are small (8 to 10 kDa) secreted proteins that attract neutrophils and lymphocytes. These chemokines signal through chemokine receptors (CXCR) 1 to 8. Several studies have reported that these chemokines and receptors have a role in either the promotion or inhibition of cancer, depending on their capacity to suppress or stimulate the action of the immune system, respectively. In general terms, activation of the CXCR1/CXCR2 pathway or the CXCR4/CXCR7 pathway is associated with tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis; therefore, the specific inhibition of these receptors is a possible therapeutic strategy. On the other hand, the lesser known CXCR3 and CXCR5 axes are generally considered to be tumor suppressor signaling pathways, and their stimulation has been suggested as a way to fight cancer. These pathways have been studied in tumor tissues (using immunohistochemistry or measuring mRNA levels) or serum [using enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) or multiplexing techniques], among other sample types. Common variants in genes encoding for the CXC chemokines have also been investigated as possible biomarkers of the disease. This review summarizes the most recent findings on the role of CXC chemokines and their receptors in CRC and discusses their possible value as prognostic or predictive biomarkers as well as the possibility of targeting them as a therapeutic strategy.

Le KS, Amé-Thomas P, Tarte K, et al.
CXCR5 and ICOS expression identifies a CD8 T-cell subset with T
Blood Adv. 2018; 2(15):1889-1900 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
A better characterization of T-cell subsets in the microenvironment of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) would help to develop immunotherapies. Using multicolor flow cytometry, we identified in 6 of 43 cHL tissue samples a previously unrecognized subset of CD8 T cells coexpressing CXCR5 and inducible T-cell costimulator (ICOS) molecules (CD8

E J, Yan F, Kang Z, et al.
CD8
Hum Immunol. 2018; 79(6):446-452 [PubMed] Related Publications
Tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) are the primary sites of tumor antigen presentation, as well as the origin of metastasis in most cases. Hence, the type and function of immune cells in TDLNs are critical to the microenvironment and potentially affect the clinical outcome of the malignancy. CD8

Li L, Ma Y, Xu Y, Maerkeya K
TIM-3 expression identifies a distinctive PD-1
Int Immunopharmacol. 2018; 57:139-146 [PubMed] Related Publications
Follicular helper T (Tfh) cells are critical regulators of immune responses in several human malignancies. Their characteristics in ovarian cancer (OC) patients remain unclear. In this study, the circulating CD4

Wang LX, Li Y, Chen GZ
Network-based co-expression analysis for exploring the potential diagnostic biomarkers of metastatic melanoma.
PLoS One. 2018; 13(1):e0190447 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Metastatic melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer and is one of the global malignancies with high mortality and morbidity. It is essential to identify and verify diagnostic biomarkers of early metastatic melanoma. Previous studies have systematically assessed protein biomarkers and mRNA-based expression characteristics. However, molecular markers for the early diagnosis of metastatic melanoma have not been identified. To explore potential regulatory targets, we have analyzed the gene microarray expression profiles of malignant melanoma samples by co-expression analysis based on the network approach. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened by the EdgeR package of R software. A weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used for the identification of DEGs in the special gene modules and hub genes. Subsequently, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed to extract hub genes associated with gene modules. Finally, twenty-four important hub genes (RASGRP2, IKZF1, CXCR5, LTB, BLK, LINGO3, CCR6, P2RY10, RHOH, JUP, KRT14, PLA2G3, SPRR1A, KRT78, SFN, CLDN4, IL1RN, PKP3, CBLC, KRT16, TMEM79, KLK8, LYPD3 and LYPD5) were treated as valuable factors involved in the immune response and tumor cell development in tumorigenesis. In addition, a transcriptional regulatory network was constructed for these specific modules or hub genes, and a few core transcriptional regulators were found to be mostly associated with our hub genes, including GATA1, STAT1, SP1, and PSG1. In summary, our findings enhance our understanding of the biological process of malignant melanoma metastasis, enabling us to identify specific genes to use for diagnostic and prognostic markers and possibly for targeted therapy.

Byford ET, Carr M, Ladikou E, et al.
Circulating Tfh1 (cTfh1) cell numbers and PD1 expression are elevated in low-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and cTfh gene expression is perturbed in marginal zone lymphoma.
PLoS One. 2018; 13(1):e0190468 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
CD4+ T-cell subsets are found in the tumour microenvironment (TME) of low-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas such as marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) or follicular lymphoma (FL). Both numbers and architecture of activating follicular helper T-cells (Tfh) and suppressive Treg in the TME of FL are associated with clinical outcomes. There has been almost no previous work on CD4+ T-cells in MZL. It is now recognised that circulating CD4+CXCR5+ T-cells are the memory compartment of Tfh cells. We determined differences in number of circulating Tfh (cTfh) cells and cTfh subsets between normal subjects and patients with FL or MZL. Lymphoma patients showed increased numbers of cTfh1 and reduced cTfh17 cells due to decreased expression of the subset-defining marker CCR6 in patients. PD1, a surface marker associated with Tfh cells, showed increased expression on cTfh subsets in patients. Focusing on MZL we determined expression of 96 T-cell associated genes by microfluidic qRT-PCR. Analysis of differentially expressed genes showed significant differences between normal subjects and patients both for bulk cTfh (CCL4) and the cTfh1 subset (JAK3). While our findings require confirmation in larger studies we suggest that analysis of number and gene expression of circulating T-cells might be a source of clinically useful information as is the case for T-cells within lymphoma lymph nodes.

Fujisawa M, Chiba S, Sakata-Yanagimoto M
Recent Progress in the Understanding of Angioimmunoblastic T-cell Lymphoma.
J Clin Exp Hematop. 2017; 57(3):109-119 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) has been classified as a subtype of mature T-cell neoplasms. The recent revision of the WHO classification proposed a new category of nodal T-cell lymphoma with follicular helper T (TFH)-cell phenotype, which was classified into three diseases: AITL, follicular T-cell lymphoma, and nodal peripheral T-cell lymphoma with TFH phenotype. These lymphomas are defined by the expression of TFH-related antigens, CD279/PD-1, CD10, BCL6, CXCL13, ICOS, SAP, and CXCR5. Although recurrent mutations in TET2, IDH2, DNMT3A, RHOA, and CD28, as well as gene fusions, such as ITK-SYK and CTLA4-CD28, were not diagnostic criteria, they may be considered as novel criteria in the near future. Notably, premalignant mutations, tumor-specific mutations, and mutations specific to tumor-infiltrating B cells were identified in AITL. Thus, multi-step and multi-lineage genetic events may lead to the development of AITL.

Haghshenas MR, Ashraf MJ, Khademi B, et al.
Chemokine and chemokine receptor patterns in patients with benign and malignant salivary gland tumors: a distinct role for CCR7.
Eur Cytokine Netw. 2017; 28(1):27-35 [PubMed] Related Publications
To explore the molecular mechanisms involved in pathophysiology of malignant and benign salivary gland tumors (SGTs), we investigated main tumor-inducing chemokines and chemokine receptors, CXCL12/CXCR4/ACKR3 (CXCR7), CXCR3/CXCL10, CCR5/CCL5, CCL21/CCR7, CCL2, CCR4, CXCR5, CCR6, and CXCL8 in tumor tissues. Parotid tissues were obtained from 30 patients with malignant and benign SGTs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was employed to determine the mRNA expression pattern of the mentioned chemokines/chemokine receptors and immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to verify the expression of CCR7. Expression levels of CCR7 and CCR4 transcripts were higher in the tumor tissues of malignant cases in comparison to benign ones (p = 0.03 and 0.02). Immunohistochemistry analysis confirmed that the protein level of CCR7 concurred with the mRNA expression. CCL2 gene transcripts were observed with a higher expression in patients with tumor-free lymph nodes (LN

Yue Z, Zhou Y, Zhao P, et al.
p53 Deletion promotes myeloma cells invasion by upregulating miR19a/CXCR5.
Leuk Res. 2017; 60:115-122 [PubMed] Related Publications
P53 deletion has been identified as one of the few factors that defined high risk and poor prognosis in MM. It has been reported p53 deletion is associated with resistance to chemotherapy and organ infiltrations of MM. However, p53 deletion in the migration and dissemination of MM cells has not been totally elucidated. In this research, first, we investigated whether p53 is associated with migration of MM cells. We found that p53 regulates the migration of NCI-H929 cells with wild-type p53 but not U266 cells with mutated-type p53. Next, we investigated the related mechanism by which p53 regulates the migration. We found that down-regulation of p53 reduced adhesion of NCI-H929 cells to the BM stroma via decreased expression of E-cadherin and increased EMT-regulating proteins. Further study have identified the miR-19a/CXCR5 pathway as a candidate p53-induced migration mechanism. In conclusion, we have demonstrated for the first time the critical value of p53 deletion in MM cell migration and dissemination, as well as the acquisition of an EMT-like phenotype. Our research provides new insights into the function of p53 in migration of MM and suggests p53/miRNA19a/CXCR5 may provide potentially therapeutic targets for the treatment of myeloma with p53 deletion.

Garg R, Blando JM, Perez CJ, et al.
Protein Kinase C Epsilon Cooperates with PTEN Loss for Prostate Tumorigenesis through the CXCL13-CXCR5 Pathway.
Cell Rep. 2017; 19(2):375-388 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
PKCε, an oncogenic member of the PKC family, is aberrantly overexpressed in epithelial cancers. To date, little is known about functional interactions of PKCε with other genetic alterations, as well as the effectors contributing to its tumorigenic and metastatic phenotype. Here, we demonstrate that PKCε cooperates with the loss of the tumor suppressor Pten for the development of prostate cancer in a mouse model. Mechanistic analysis revealed that PKCε overexpression and Pten loss individually and synergistically upregulate the production of the chemokine CXCL13, which involves the transcriptional activation of the CXCL13 gene via the non-canonical nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) pathway. Notably, targeted disruption of CXCL13 or its receptor, CXCR5, in prostate cancer cells impaired their migratory and tumorigenic properties. In addition to providing evidence for an autonomous vicious cycle driven by PKCε, our studies identified a compelling rationale for targeting the CXCL13-CXCR5 axis for prostate cancer treatment.

Peng M, Zhao G, Yang F, et al.
NCOA1 is a novel susceptibility gene for multiple myeloma in the Chinese population: A case-control study.
PLoS One. 2017; 12(3):e0173298 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable malignancy of mature B-lymphoid cells, and its pathogenesis is only partially understood. Previous studies have demonstrated that a number of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) associated genes also show susceptibility to MM, suggesting malignancies originating from B cells may share similar genetic susceptibility. Several recent large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified HLA-I, HLA-II, CXCR5, ETS1, LPP and NCOA1 genes as genetic risk factors associated with NHL, and this study aimed to investigate whether these genes polymorphisms confer susceptibility with MM in the Chinese Han population. In 827 MM cases and 709 healthy controls of Chinese Han, seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the HLA-I region (rs6457327), the HLA-II region (rs2647012 and rs7755224), the CXCR5 gene (rs4938573), the ETS1 gene (rs4937362), the LPP gene (rs6444305), and the NCOA1 region (rs79480871) were genotyped using the Sequenom platform. Our study indicated that genotype and allele frequencies of rs79480871 showed strong associations with MM patients (pa = 3.5×10-4 and pa = 1.5×10-4), and the rs6457327 genotype was more readily associated with MM patients than with controls (pa = 4.9×10-3). This study was the first to reveal the correlation between NCOA1 gene polymorphisms and MM patients, indicating that NCOA1 might be a novel susceptibility gene for MM patients in the Chinese Han population.

Chen MM, Xiao X, Lao XM, et al.
Polarization of Tissue-Resident TFH-Like Cells in Human Hepatoma Bridges Innate Monocyte Inflammation and M2b Macrophage Polarization.
Cancer Discov. 2016; 6(10):1182-1195 [PubMed] Related Publications
The existence, regulation, and functions of IL21
SIGNIFICANCE: We identified a novel protumorigenic IL21

Nedelkovska H, Rosenberg AF, Hilchey SP, et al.
Follicular Lymphoma Tregs Have a Distinct Transcription Profile Impacting Their Migration and Retention in the Malignant Lymph Node.
PLoS One. 2016; 11(5):e0155347 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
We have previously shown that regulatory T cells (Tregs) infiltrating follicular lymphoma lymph nodes are quantitatively and qualitatively different than those infiltrating normal and reactive nodes. To gain insight into how such Treg populations differ, we performed RNA sequence (RNAseq) analyses on flow sorted Tregs from all three sources. We identify several molecules that could contribute to the observed increased suppressive capacity of follicular lymphoma nodal tregs, including upregulation of CTLA-4, IL-10, and GITR, all confirmed by protein expression. In addition, we identify, and confirm functionally, a novel mechanism by which Tregs target to and accumulate within a human tumor microenvironment, through the down regulation of S1PR1, SELL (L-selectin) and CCR7, potentially resulting in greater lymph node retention. In addition we identify and confirm functionally the upregulation of the chemokine receptor CXCR5 as well as the secretion of the chemokines CXCL13 and IL-16 demonstrating the unique ability of the follicular derived Tregs to localize and accumulate within not only the malignant lymph node, but also localize and accumulate within the malignant B cell follicle itself. Such findings offer significant new insights into how follicular lymphoma nodal Tregs may contribute to the biology of follicular lymphoma and identify several novel therapeutic targets.

Saint-Georges S, Quettier M, Bouyaba M, et al.
Protein kinase D-dependent CXCR4 down-regulation upon BCR triggering is linked to lymphadenopathy in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Oncotarget. 2016; 7(27):41031-41046 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), infiltration of lymph nodes by leukemic cells is observed in patients with progressive disease and adverse outcome. We have previously demonstrated that B-cell receptor (BCR) engagement resulted in CXCR4 down-regulation in CLL cells, correlating with a shorter progression-free survival in patients. In this study, we show a simultaneous down-regulation of CXCR4, CXCR5 and CD62L upon BCR triggering. While concomitant CXCR4 and CXCR5 down-regulation involves PKDs, CD62L release relies on PKC activation. BCR engagement induces PI3K-δ-dependent phosphorylation of PKD2 and 3, which in turn phosphorylate CXCR4 Ser324/325. Moreover, upon BCR triggering, PKD phosphorylation levels correlate with the extent of membrane CXCR4 decrease. Inhibition of PKD activity restores membrane expression of CXCR4 and migration towards CXCL12 in BCR-responsive cells in vitro. In terms of pathophysiology, BCR-dependent CXCR4 down-regulation is observed in leukemic cells from patients with enlarged lymph nodes, irrespective of their IGHV mutational status. Taken together, our results demonstrate that PKD-mediated CXCR4 internalization induced by BCR engagement in B-CLL is associated with lymph node enlargement and suggest PKD as a potential druggable target for CLL therapeutics.

Aguilar-Hernandez MM, Blunt MD, Dobson R, et al.
IL-4 enhances expression and function of surface IgM in CLL cells.
Blood. 2016; 127(24):3015-25 [PubMed] Related Publications
Kinase inhibitors targeting the B-cell receptor (BCR) are now prominent in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We have focused here on interleukin 4 (IL-4), a cytokine that protects normal and malignant B cells from apoptosis and increases surface immunoglobulin M (sIgM) expression on murine splenic B cells. First, we have demonstrated that IL-4 treatment increased sIgM expression in vitro on peripheral blood B cells obtained from healthy individuals. In CLL, IL-4 target genes are overexpressed in cells purified from the lymph nodes of patients compared with cells derived from matched blood and bone marrow samples. As for normal B cells, IL-4 increased sIgM expression on CLL cells in vitro, especially in samples expressing unmutated V-genes. IL-4-induced sIgM expression was associated with increased receptor signalling activity, measured by anti-IgM-induced calcium mobilization, and with increased expression of CD79B messenger RNA and protein, and the "mature" glycoform of sIgM. Importantly, the ability of the BCR-associated kinase inhibitors idelalisib and ibrutinib, approved for treatment of CLL and other B-cell malignancies, to inhibit anti-IgM-induced signalling was reduced following IL-4 pretreatment in samples from the majority of patients. In contrast to stimulatory effects on sIgM, IL-4 decreased CXCR4 and CXCR5 expression; therefore, CLL cells, particularly within the progressive unmutated V-gene subset, may harness the ability of IL-4 to promote BCR signalling and B-cell retention within lymph nodes. Effects of IL-4 were mediated via JAK3/STAT6 and we propose a potential role for JAK inhibitors in combination with BCR kinase inhibitors for the treatment of CLL.

Yang L, Gao L, Chen Y, et al.
The Differential Expression and Function of the Inflammatory Chemokine Receptor CXCR5 in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Prostate Cancer.
Int J Med Sci. 2015; 12(11):853-61 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Chemokine and chemokine receptors could have played an important role in tumor angiogenesis and distant metastasis. The mechanism of inflammation, expression and function of chemokines and chemokine receptors in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) remain unclear. The purpose of present study is to detect differential expression and function of chemokines and chemokine receptors (CCRs) in BPH and PCa.
METHODS: BPH-1 and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were co-cultured in Transwell chambers, and human normal prostate (NP) tissues, BPH tissues and PCa tissues were collected. CCR gene-chips were used to analyze and compare the differential expression of CCRs in BPH-1 cells, BPH-1 cells co-cultured with PBMCs, and LNCaP cells. The differential expression of CCRs was detected and validated using real-time PCR, western blotting and immunofluorescence (IF). The proliferation of LNCaP cells was also investigated after the knockdown CXCR5.
RESULTS: RESULTS of gene-chips indicated that there was low or no expression of CCR10, CXCR1, CXCR3 and CXCR5 in BPH-1 cells, whereas the expression of these receptors in BPH-1 cells was increased by PBMCs, and the expression was high in LNCaP cells. Furthermore, real-time PCR and western blotting confirmed the above mentioned results. IF verified no or low expression of CXCR1, CXCR3 and CXCR5 in NP tissues, low or moderate expression in BPH and high expression in PCa. However, CCR10 was not expressed at detectable levels in the three groups. The growth and proliferation of LNCaP cells was markedly inhibited after down-regulation of CXCR5.
CONCLUSIONS: PCa cells expressed high levels of CCR10, CXCR1, CXCR3 and CXCR5. Although BPH cells did not express these factors, their expression was up-regulated when BPH-1 cells were incubated with inflammatory cells. Finally, down-regulation of CXCR5 inhibited the growth and proliferation of LNCaP cells.

Ding Y, Shen J, Zhang G, et al.
CD40 controls CXCR5-induced recruitment of myeloid-derived suppressor cells to gastric cancer.
Oncotarget. 2015; 6(36):38901-11 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
To explore the mechanisms of MDSC trafficking and accumulation during tumor progression. In this study, we report significant CD40 upregulation in tumor-infiltrating MDSC when compared with splenic MDSC. Microarray analyses comparing CD40(high) and CD40l(ow) MDSC revealed 1872 differentially expressed genes, including CD83, CXCR5, BTLA, CXCL9, TLR1, FLT3, NOD2 and CXCL10. In vivo experiments comparing wild-type (WT) and CD40 knockout (KO) mice demonstrated that CD40 critically regulates CXCR5 expression. Consistently, the transwell analysis confirmed the essential role of CXCR5-CXCL13 crosstalk in the migration of CD40+ MDSC toward gastric cancer. Furthermore, more MDSC accumulated in the gastric cancers of WT mice when compared with KO mice, and the WT tumors mostly contained CD40+ cells. Functionally, tumors grew faster in WT than KO mice. In conclusion, we demonstrate that CD40 expression upregulates the chemokine receptor CXCR5 and promotes MDSC migration toward and accumulation within cancer. Therefore, this study provides preliminary evidence that CD40 may stimulate tumor growth by enabling immune evasion via MDSC recruitment and inhibition of T cell expansion.

Mensen A, Oh Y, Becker SC, et al.
Apoptosis Susceptibility Prolongs the Lack of Memory B Cells in Acute Leukemic Patients After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.
Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2015; 21(11):1895-906 [PubMed] Related Publications
Long-term survival after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation requires intact immunosurveillance, which is hampered by lymphoid organ damage associated with conditioning therapy, graft-versus-host disease, and immunosuppression. Our study aimed to identify the mechanisms contributing to sustained low memory B cell numbers after transplantation. Peripheral B and T cell subset recovery and functional marker expression were investigated in 35 acute leukemic patients up to 1 year after transplantation. Apoptosis of B cells after CD40/TLR-9, CD40/BCR, and CD40/BCR/TLR-9-dependent stimulation and drug efflux capacity were analyzed. One half of the patients suffered from infections after day 180. All patients had strongly diminished CD27(+) memory B cells despite already normalized total B cell numbers and fully recovered CD27(-)IgD(-) memory B cells, putatively of extra-follicular origin. Circulating memory follicular helper T cells were reduced in the majority of patients as well. Naïve B cells exhibited a decreased expression of CXCR5, which mediates follicular B cell entry. Additionally, a lower HLA-DR expression was found on naïve B cells, impairing antigen presentation. Upon CD40/TLR-9-dependent activation, B cells underwent significantly increased apoptosis paralleled by an aberrant up-regulation of Fas-L on activated T cells and Fas on resting B cells. Significantly increased B cell apoptosis was also observed after CD40/BCR and CD40/BCR/TLR-9-dependent activation. Drug efflux capacity of naïve B cells was diminished in cyclosporin A-treated patients, additionally contributing to an apoptosis-prone phenotype. We conclude that B cell survival and migration and T cell communication defects are contributing candidates for an impaired germinal center formation of memory B cells after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Follow-up studies should evaluate effectiveness of revaccinations on the cellular level and should address the long-term sequelae of B cell defects after transplantation.

Mitkin NA, Hook CD, Schwartz AM, et al.
p53-dependent expression of CXCR5 chemokine receptor in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.
Sci Rep. 2015; 5:9330 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Elevated expression of chemokine receptors in tumors has been reported in many instances and is related to a number of survival advantages for tumor cells including abnormal activation of prosurvival intracellular pathways. In this work we demonstrated an inverse correlation between expression levels of p53 tumor suppressor and CXCR5 chemokine receptor in MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. Lentiviral transduction of MCF-7 cells with p53 shRNA led to elevated CXCR5 at both mRNA and protein levels. Functional activity of CXCR5 in p53-knockdown MCF-7 cells was also increased as shown by activation of target gene expression and chemotaxis in response to B-lymphocyte chemoattractant CXCL13. Using deletion analysis and site-directed mutagenesis of the cxcr5 gene promoter and enhancer elements, we demonstrated that p53 appears to act upon cxcr5 promoter indirectly, by repressing the activity of NFκB transcription factors. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation and reporter gene analysis, we further demonstrated that p65/RelA was able to bind the cxcr5 promoter in p53-dependent manner and to directly transactivate it when overexpressed. Through the described mechanism, elevated CXCR5 expression may contribute to abnormal cell survival and migration in breast tumors that lack functional p53.

Yang ZZ, Grote DM, Ziesmer SC, et al.
PD-1 expression defines two distinct T-cell sub-populations in follicular lymphoma that differentially impact patient survival.
Blood Cancer J. 2015; 5:e281 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
To determine the biological and clinical relevance of programmed death 1 (PD-1) in follicular lymphoma (FL), we characterized PD-1(+) T-cell subsets and assessed their biological function as well as potential clinical impact. We found that PD-1 is expressed on intratumoral CD4(+) T cells with both bright and dim intensity, representing two different sub-populations of cells. By immunohistochemistry, we found that CD4(+)PD-1(high) T cells predominantly reside in the lymph node follicles, while PD-1(low) T cells are mainly located in an interfollicular pattern. Intratumoral CD4(+)PD-1(high) T cells have a TFH cell phenotype, express CXCR5, secrete IL-21 and are BCL-6 positive with no TIM-3 expression. In contrast, CD4(+)PD-1(low) T cells have an exhausted phenotype, express TIM-3 and do not express BCL-6 and CXCR5. Functionally, CD4(+)PD-1(high) T cells actively supported B-cell growth, while CD4(+)PD-1(low) T cells displayed a reduced cytokine production and cell-signal transduction. Clinically, we observed that the numbers of CD4(+) or CD8(+)PD-1(low) T cells significantly correlate with a reduced overall survival in FL patients (P=0.007 and 0.04 respectively; n=32). In contrast, the number of CD4(+)PD-1(high) T cells was not associated with patient outcome. Taken together, these results indicated that PD-1 expression defines two sub-populations with distinct functions that differentially impact patient outcome in FL.

Pimenta EM, De S, Weiss R, et al.
IRF5 is a novel regulator of CXCL13 expression in breast cancer that regulates CXCR5(+) B- and T-cell trafficking to tumor-conditioned media.
Immunol Cell Biol. 2015 May-Jun; 93(5):486-99 [PubMed] Related Publications
Clinical studies using prognostic and predictive signatures have shown that an immune signal emanating from whole tumors reflects the level of immune cell infiltration--a high immune signal linked to improved outcome. Factors regulating immune cell trafficking to the tumor, however, are not known. Previous work has shown that expression of interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5), a critical immune regulator, is lost in ~80% of invasive ductal carcinomas examined. We postulated that IRF5-positive and -negative breast tumors would differentially regulate immune cell trafficking to the tumor. Using a focused tumor inflammatory array, differences in cytokine and chemokine expression were examined between IRF5-positive and -negative MDA-MB-231 cells grown in three-dimensional culture. A number of cytokines/chemokines were found to be dysregulated between cultures. CXCL13 was identified as a direct target of IRF5 resulting in the enhanced recruitment of B and T cells to IRF5-positive tumor-conditioned media. The ability of IRF5 to regulate mediators of cell migration was confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, small interfering RNA knockdown and immunofluorescence staining of human breast tumor tissues. Analysis of primary immune cell subsets revealed that IRF5 specifically recruits CXCR5(+) B and T cells to the tumor; CXCR5 is the receptor for CXCL13. Analysis of primary breast tumor tissues revealed a significant correlation between IRF5 and CXCL13 expression providing clinical relevance to the study. Together, these data support that IRF5 directly regulates a network of genes that shapes a tumor immune response and may, in combination with CXCL13, serve as a novel prognostic marker for antitumor immunity.

Zhu Z, Zhang X, Guo H, et al.
CXCL13-CXCR5 axis promotes the growth and invasion of colon cancer cells via PI3K/AKT pathway.
Mol Cell Biochem. 2015; 400(1-2):287-95 [PubMed] Related Publications
CXCL13, an inflammatory factor in the microenvironment, plays a vital role in the progression of inflammatory diseases and tumors. CXCL13 and its receptor CXCR5 have been reported to be associated with poor prognosis of advanced colon cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms of CXCL13-CXCR5 axis in colon cancer remain elusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of CXCR5-CXCL13 axis in the growth and invasion of colon cancer cells. Our results showed that CXCL13 promoted the growth, migration, and matrigel invasion of colon cancer cells. Furthermore, CXCL13 increased the expression and secretion of MMP-13, and stimulated the activation of PI3K/AKT pathway. After knockdown of CXCR5 by siRNA, the biological functions of colon cancer cells regulated by CXCL13 were significantly inhibited. In addition, inhibition of PI3K/AKT pathway by specific inhibitor LY294002 suppressed the CXCL13-mediated growth, migration, and invasion of colon cancer cells. Together, our findings suggest that CXCL13-CXCR5 axis promotes the growth, migration, and invasion of colon cancer cells, probably via PI3K/AKT pathway. Thus, CXCL13 may be a useful biomarker for the detection and treatment of colon cancer.

Skibola CF, Berndt SI, Vijai J, et al.
Genome-wide association study identifies five susceptibility loci for follicular lymphoma outside the HLA region.
Am J Hum Genet. 2014; 95(4):462-71 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of follicular lymphoma (FL) have previously identified human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene variants. To identify additional FL susceptibility loci, we conducted a large-scale two-stage GWAS in 4,523 case subjects and 13,344 control subjects of European ancestry. Five non-HLA loci were associated with FL risk: 11q23.3 (rs4938573, p = 5.79 × 10(-20)) near CXCR5; 11q24.3 (rs4937362, p = 6.76 × 10(-11)) near ETS1; 3q28 (rs6444305, p = 1.10 × 10(-10)) in LPP; 18q21.33 (rs17749561, p = 8.28 × 10(-10)) near BCL2; and 8q24.21 (rs13254990, p = 1.06 × 10(-8)) near PVT1. In an analysis of the HLA region, we identified four linked HLA-DRβ1 multiallelic amino acids at positions 11, 13, 28, and 30 that were associated with FL risk (pomnibus = 4.20 × 10(-67) to 2.67 × 10(-70)). Additional independent signals included rs17203612 in HLA class II (odds ratio [OR(per-allele)] = 1.44; p = 4.59 × 10(-16)) and rs3130437 in HLA class I (OR(per-allele) = 1.23; p = 8.23 × 10(-9)). Our findings further expand the number of loci associated with FL and provide evidence that multiple common variants outside the HLA region make a significant contribution to FL risk.

Singh R, Gupta P, Kloecker GH, et al.
Expression and clinical significance of CXCR5/CXCL13 in human non‑small cell lung carcinoma.
Int J Oncol. 2014; 45(6):2232-40 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
CXCR5 and/or CXCL13 expression is elevated in certain carcinomas and lymphomas. To determine if these factors are involved in progression of non-small cell lung cancer (LuCa), we evaluated their expression in patients with various forms of this disease. Lung biopsies from patients with non-neoplastic cells (n=8), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC; n=24), or adenocarcinoma (AC; n=54) were stained for CXCR5. Histopathological analysis of these samples showed significantly higher expression of CXCR5 (p<0.001) in carcinomas (i.e., SCCs and ACs) relative to non‑neoplastic lung tissue. Nuclear and membrane CXCR5 intensities were highest in ACs, with median values of 185 and 130, respectively, followed by SCCs with median values of 170 and 110, respectively. The lowest nuclear and membrane expressions of CXCR5 were found in non-neoplastic tissues, having median values of 142 and 90, respectively. Sera from SCC patients (n=17), AC patients (n=14), and healthy controls (n=9) were tested for the presence of CXCL13. Serum CXCL13 levels in LuCa patients were higher than in healthy controls. CXCR5 expression in cell lines of human non-small cell lung carcinoma (NCI-H1915) and small cell lung carcinoma (SW-1271) were evaluated by flow cytometry. CXCR5 expression was higher in NCI-H1915 cells relative to SW-1271 cells. The functional significance of CXCR5 expression was tested in a migration assay. In response to CXCL13, more NCI-H1915 cells migrated than SW-1271 cells. These findings suggest that the CXCR5‑CXCL13 axis influences LuCa progression. After validation in larger patient groups, CXCR5 and CXCL13 may prove useful as biomarkers for LuCa. Correspondingly, blockade of this axis could serve as an effective therapy for LuCa.

Xing J, Li X, Sui J, et al.
C-X-C chemokine receptor type 5 gene polymorphism affects gene expression in CD4+ T cells and is associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer.
Tumour Biol. 2014; 35(8):7929-34 [PubMed] Related Publications
Dysregulation of the immune system may play important roles in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC). The C-X-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CXCR5) is one of the principal regulators for targeting T cells, B cells, and dendritic cells into secondary lymphoid organs. The current study investigated the association between CXCR5 gene polymorphisms and the risk of CRC, and the potential effect of these polymorphisms on different immune cells. Two polymorphisms in CXCR5 gene, rs6421571C/T and rs80202369G/A, were examined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in 302 cases and 316 controls. Results showed that individuals with the rs6421571CT and TT genotypes had a strong correlation with the incidence of CRC (odds ratio (OR) = 1.46; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.02-2.09; p = 0.041 and OR = 2.62; 95 % CI, 1.50-4.95; p < 0.001, respectively). Also, rs80202369AA genotype revealed significantly higher distribution in CRC patients than in controls (p = 0.002). We further investigated the possible effects of the polymorphisms by assessing messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels of CXCR5 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and B cells. Data presented that healthy controls with rs6421571CT and TT genotypes had higher mRNA and protein levels of CXCR5 than those with wild-type CC genotype specifically in CD4+ T cells. These findings suggest novel risk factors of CRC and indicate a potential mechanism of CXCR5 gene polymorphism.

Ahearne MJ, Allchin RL, Fox CP, Wagner SD
Follicular helper T-cells: expanding roles in T-cell lymphoma and targets for treatment.
Br J Haematol. 2014; 166(3):326-35 [PubMed] Related Publications
Follicular helper T-cells (Tfh cells) are a subset of CD4(+) T-cells that are essential for normal production of high affinity antibodies. Tfh cells characteristically produce IL21 and IL4 and show high expression of surface markers CXCR5, ICOS, PDCD1 (PD-1) and the chemokine CXCL13. In this review we will focus on the emerging links between Tfh cells and subtypes of T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) and ~20% of peripheral T-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) have surface marker features of Tfh cells and share a spectrum of genetic abnormalities. The recurrent genetic abnormalities associated with AITL include mutations in epigenetic modifiers such as TET2 and DNMT3A and the motility and adhesion gene, RHOA, is mutated in up to 70% of cases. ~20% of PTCL-NOS demonstrate RHOA mutations and have other characteristics suggesting an origin in Tfh cells. The recognition that specific genetic and surface markers are associated with malignant Tfh cells suggests that the next few years will bring major changes in diagnostic and treatment possibilities. For example, antibodies against IL21, PDCD1 and ICOS are already in clinical trials for autoimmune disease or other malignancies and antibodies against CXCL13 are in pre-clinical development.

Biswas S, Sengupta S, Roy Chowdhury S, et al.
CXCL13-CXCR5 co-expression regulates epithelial to mesenchymal transition of breast cancer cells during lymph node metastasis.
Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2014; 143(2):265-76 [PubMed] Related Publications
We investigated the expression of -CXC chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) and its receptor -CXC chemokine receptor 5 (CXCR5) in 98 breast cancer (BC) patients with infiltrating duct carcinoma, out of which 56 were found lymph node metastasis (LNM) positive. Interestingly, co-expression of CXCL13 and CXCR5 showed a significant correlation with LNM. Since, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is highly associated with metastasis we investigated EMT-inducing potential of CXCL13 in BC cell lines. In CXCL13-stimulated BC cells, expression of various mesenchymal markers (Vimentin, N-cadherin), EMT regulators (Snail, Slug), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) was increased, whereas the expression of epithelial marker E-cadherin was found to be decreased. In addition, expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL), which is known to regulate MMP9 expression via Src activation, was also significantly increased after CXCL13 stimulation. Using specific protein kinase inhibitors, we confirmed that CXCL13 stimulated EMT and MMP9 expression via RANKL-Src axis in BC cell lines. To further validate this observation, we examined gene expression patterns in primary breast tumors and detected significantly higher expression of various mesenchymal markers and regulators in CXCL13-CXCR5 co-expressing patients. Therefore, this study showed the EMT-inducing potential of CXCL13 as well as demonstrated the prognostic value of CXCL13-CXCR5 co-expression in primary BC. Moreover, CXCL13-CXCR5-RANKL-Src axis may present a therapeutic target in LNM positive BC patients.

Pascutti MF, Jak M, Tromp JM, et al.
IL-21 and CD40L signals from autologous T cells can induce antigen-independent proliferation of CLL cells.
Blood. 2013; 122(17):3010-9 [PubMed] Related Publications
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells multiply in secondary lymphoid tissue, but the mechanisms leading to their proliferation are still uncertain. In addition to B-cell receptor (BCR)-triggered signals, other microenvironmental factors might well be involved. In proliferation centers, leukemic B cells are in close contact with CD4(+)CD40L(+) T cells. Therefore, we here dissected the signals provided by autologous activated T cells (Tact) to CLL cells. Although the gene expression profile induced by Tact was highly similar to that induced by sole CD40 signaling, an obvious difference was that Tact induced proliferation of CLL cells. We determined that stimulation with only CD40L+IL-21 was sufficient to induce robust proliferation in CLL cells. We then defined an interleukin (IL)-21-induced gene signature in CLL, containing components of Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription and apoptosis pathways, and this signature could be detected in lymph node (LN) samples from patients. Finally, we could detect IL-21 RNA and protein in LN, and IL-21 production ex vivo by LN CD4(+)CXCR5(+) follicular helper T cells. These results indicate that in addition to BCR signaling, activated T cells might contribute to CLL cell proliferation via CD40 and IL-21. Targeting these signaling pathways might offer new venues for treatment of CLL.

Cha Z, Zang Y, Guo H, et al.
Association of peripheral CD4+ CXCR5+ T cells with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Tumour Biol. 2013; 34(6):3579-85 [PubMed] Related Publications
Accumulating evidences indicate that immune dysregulation plays a key role in both lymphomagenesis and patient outcome of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Peripheral blood CD4+ CXCR5+ T cells, known as circulating follicular helper T cells (Tfh), can induce B cell activation and production of specific antibody responses. The aim of the study was to investigate changes of circulating Tfh in CLL. Tfh and it subtypes were tested by measuring CD4, CXCR5, CXCR3, and CCR6 in 72 CLL cases and 86 healthy controls using flow cytometry. Data showed that the percentage of Tfh in the peripheral CD4+ T cells was significantly increased in CLL (25.1%) than in controls (8.4%) (p < 0.001). Further analysis revealed that the upregulation of Tfh was contributed by Tfh-th2 subtype and Tfh-th17 subtype. Investigating staging of the cases demonstrated that the prevalence of Tfh was significantly elevated in cases with Binet stage C (37.3%) than those with stage A (20.1 %) or stage B (23.9 %). In addition, we analyzed Tfh in patients with immunoglobulin variable heavy chain (IGHV) gene mutational status. Results presented that Tfh-th17 subtype had clearly higher frequency in patients with IGHV mutation compared to the unmutated cases (p = 0.035). This study suggested the involvement of Tfh in the pathogenesis and progression of CLL, and provided a potential target for treating this disease.

Razmkhah M, Jaberipour M, Safaei A, et al.
Chemokine and chemokine receptors: a comparative study between metastatic and nonmetastatic lymph nodes in breast cancer patients.
Eur Cytokine Netw. 2012 Jul-Sep; 23(3):72-7 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Lymph nodes (LNs) are among the first sites of tumor metastasis. The expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors in LNs are involved in cancer prognosis and are considered to be good predictors of tumor progression. The main aim of this study was to assess the expression of important, tumor-promoting chemokines and chemokine receptors in LNs of breast cancer patients. LNs were isolated from eighteen women diagnosed with breast cancer. Data were compared between positive and negative LNs. Expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors were determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and flow cytometry.
RESULTS: Results of qRT-PCR showed that all chemokines, in particular MCP-1, IL-8, SDF-1 and CXCL13, and chemokine receptors CXCR3, CXCR4 and CCR5 showed greater mRNA expression in LN(+) compared to LN(-) samples. However, these differences were not statistically significant. IL-8 and CXCR5 gene transcripts had significantly higher expression in LN(+ )patients with stage III compared to those with stage II tumors (P value = 0.04). Results of flow cytometry analysis showed a higher, significant presence of CD69(+), CCR5(+) and CD3(+)CCR5(+) cells in LN of LN(+) compared to LN(- )breast cancer patients (P value<0.05). Expression of MCP-1 was higher in LN(+) patients, which was near significance (P value = 0.07).
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide additional information on the expression of essential chemokines and chemokine receptors in LN and on their relationships to important prognostic factors in breast cancer. These findings have important implications for immunotherapeutic interventions in the treatment of breast cancer.

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