[Frontiers in Bioscience S3, 1569-1582, June 1, 2011]

Chemokines: key players in cancer progression and metastasis

Rajesh Singh1, James W. Lillard, Jr. 1, Shailesh Singh1

1Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Chemokines and the tumor immune response
4. Chemokines in tumor development, growth and angiogenesis
5. Chemokines in tumor invasion and metastasis
6. Cross talk between chemokines and growth factors in cancer progression
7. Expression of chemokine receptors and cancer metastasis
8.Role of chemokine and their receptors in cancers
8.1. Breast cancer
8.2. Prostate cancer
8.3. Ovarian cancer
9. Molecular mechanisms of the functional on-switch of the chemokine receptors in metastatic cancer cells
10. Conclusion and perspective
11. References

1. ABSTRACT

Instructed cell migration is a fundamental component of various biological systems and is critical to the pathogenesis of many diseases including cancer. Role of chemokines in providing navigational cues to migrating cancer cells bearing specific receptors is well established. However, functional mechanisms of chemokine are not well implicit, which is crucial for designing new therapeutics to control tumor growth and metastasis. Multiple functions and mode of actions have been advocated for chemokines and their receptors in the progression of primary and secondary tumors. In this review, we have discussed current advances in understanding the role of the chemokines and their corresponding receptor in tumor progression and metastasis.