Chemokines are involved in human hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） carcinogenesis. However, the exact mechanism of chemokines in HCC carcinogenesis remains unknown. Here we investigated the roles of chemokine receptor 4 （CXCR4） and chemokine ligand 12 （CXCL12） in the metastasis of HCC. We found that the expression levels of CXCR4 mRNA in HCC tissues, MHCC97 cells, and HUVEC cells were 2.52 ± 1.13, 2.34 ± 1.16 and 1.63 ± 1.26, respectively and that the CXCR4 protein levels were 1.38 ± 0.13, 1.96 ± 0.32 and 1.86 ± 0.21, respectively. In contrast, CXCR4 was not detected in normal hepatic tissues. In 78 HCC patients, we also found that the concentration of CXCL12 in cancerous ascitic fluid was 783-8,364 pg/ml and that CXCL12 mRNA level in HCC metastasis portal lymph nodes was 1.21 ± 0.87 but undetectable in normal hepatic tissues. Finally we discovered that recombinant human CXCL12 could induce MHCC97 cells and HUVEC cells to migrate with chemotactic indexes （CI） of 3.9 ± 1.1 and 4.1 ± 1.6, respectively. Cancerous ascitic fluid could also induce the migration of MHCC97 cells with a CI of 1.9 ± 0.8. Thus, our data suggest that CXCR4 and CXCL12 may play an important role in the metastasis of HCC by promoting the migration of tumor cells.
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机译：pathological mechanisms of systemic lupus erythematosus: toll-like receptors, intracellular signaling molecules, CD26, T helper 17 cells and B cell chemokine.
