Chemokines mediate numerous physiological and pathological processes related primarily
to cell homing and migration. The chemokine CXCL12, also known as stromal cell-derived
factor-1, binds the G-protein-coupled receptor CXCR4, which, through multiple divergent
pathways, leads to chemotaxis, enhanced intracellular calcium, cell adhesion, survival,
proliferation, and gene transcription. CXCR4, initially discovered for its involvement in HIV
entry and leukocytes trafficking, is overexpressed in more than 23 human cancers. Cancer …