mRNA expression of chemokine receptors in hepatic and pancreatic tumor cell lines

Chemokines represent a large family of polypeptide signaling molecules that are notable for their role in chemotaxis, leukocyte homing, and directional migration. Recent observations have indicated that the expression of chemokine receptors on cancer cells may play a role in tumor progression and metastasis. In this study, the expression of mRNA for chemokine receptors in various human tumor cell lines was analyzed by multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR). Strong expression of CCR6 mRNA in 3 of 3 hepatoma cell lines was observed. In the 3 pancreatic cancer cell lines, no specific expression of chemokine receptors was observed. Raji (lymphoma cell line) strongly expressed CCR7 and CXCR4. We further investigated CCR6 mRNA expression in these cell lines by real-time quantitative-PCR. Similar results were obtained by both the PCR methods. Because human liver constitutively express liver and activation-regulated chemokine (specific ligand for CCR6), hepatoma cells may selectively root and spread in the liver. Strong CCR7 and CXCR4 expressions in the lymphoma cell may explain the organ specificity of lymphoma for lymphoid organs as well. These findings probably indicate that some cancer cells have organ specificity via expression of chemokine receptors.