A review of CXCR4/CXCL12 axis in colorectal cancer

The chemokine CXCL12 (SDF-1) is an extracellular chemokine which binds to its cell surface receptor CXCR4. The axis of CXCL12/CXCR4 has been considered to play an important role for cancer cell migration. Recently, the aberrant expression of CXCR4 has been found during the malignancy of colorectal cancer (CRC), where it plays a crucial role in, among others, the proliferation, angiogenesis and metastatic spread. Various intracellular signal transduction cascades and effectors related to the CXCR4/CXCL12 axis have been determined, such as MAPK, PI-3K/Akt and Wnt. Currently, the potential role of CXCR4/CXCL12 as the therapeutic target for treatment of CRC has been focused. In this review, we summarized recent research on CXCL12/CXCR4 axis in the development of CRC.