Expression of the CXCL12/SDF-1 Chemokine Receptor CXCR7 in Human Brain Tumours

Purpose: Receptor 7 (CXCR7) has recently been characterized as a novel receptor for CXCL12/SDF-1(stromal cell derived factor-1). Given the demonstrated importance of CXCL12/SDF-1 in angiogenesis and tumourmetastasis, we hypothesized that CXCR7 may also play a role in tumour pathogenesis. Located in the limitedspace of the intracranial cavity, any brain tumours can be inherently serious and life-threatening. However, theexpression of CXCR7 in pituitary adenoma, neurilemmoma or hemangioblastoma remains to be elucidated.Therefore, we aimed to determine the potential contribution of CXCR7 in the development of brain tumours.
Methods: In this study we examined and quantified the mRNA expression of CXCR7 in four different humanbrain tumours - 27 patients with neurilemmoma (8 patients), pituitary adenoma (7 patients), hemangioblastoma(6 patients), or meningioma (6 patients) undergoing surgical resection in the West China Hospital of SichuanUniversity. There were 15 females and 12 males aged from 28 to 70 years old. Total RNA was isolated and mRNAwas measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed usingSPSS 11.0 statistical software to compare the mRNA levels of CXCR7 among four groups.
Results: We foundthat CXCR7 mRNA was detected in all tumour samples. Quantitative results showed that the levels of CXCR7mRNA in brain tissues from patients with neurilemmoma or meningioma were significantly higher than thosewith pituitary adenoma or hemangioblastoma.
Conclusions: The results suggest that the CXCR7 may play arole in progression, metastasis and angiogenesis of brain tumours.