6366

CCL21

chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 21;CCL21;chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 21

C-C motif chemokine 21|Efficient Chemoattractant for Lymphocytes|beta chemokine exodus-2|secondary lymphoid tissue chemokine|small inducible cytokine subfamily A (Cys-Cys), member 21

9p13

protein-coding

AIM: To investigate how a complex network of CC chemokine ligands (CCLs) and their receptors influence the progression of tumor and metastasis. METHODS: In the present study, we used immunohistochemistry to examine the expression of CCL7, CCL8 and CCL21 in 194 gastric cancer samples and adjacent normal tissues. We analyzed their correlation with tumor metastasis, clinicopathologic parameters and clinical outcome. RESULTS: We found that the higher expression of CCL7 and CCL21 in cancer tissues than in normal tissues was significantly correlated with advanced depth of wall invasion, lymph node metastasis and higher tumor node metastasis stage. Moreover, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that CCL7 and CCL21 overexpression in cancer tissues was correlated with poor prognosis. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that overexpression of these two CC chemokine ligands is associated with tumor metastasis and serves as a prognostic factor in patients with gastric cancer.

The purpose of this study is to determine the expression of CCL19, CCL21, and CCR7 in samples of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and their relationship with clinical and microscopic parameters. A comparative analysis was made of the mRNA expression of these chemokines and receptor in OSCC and normal oral mucosa. The immunoexpression of CCR7, CCL19, and CCL21 was also verified in OSCC and lymph nodes. Statistical significance was accepted at P < 0.05. Similar levels of CCR7, CCL19, and CCL21 mRNA in OSCC and normal oral mucosa were seen. A low expression of CCL19 and CCL21 in the intra- and peritumoral regions was observed. Scarce CCL19(+) and CCL21(+) cells were also noted in metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes. No association was found between the expression of these chemokines and clinical and microscopic parameters. Our findings would suggest that CCL19 and CCL21 may not be associated with cervical lymph node metastasis or other clinical and microscopic factors in OSCC.