Università della Svizzera italiana

CXCR7 functions as a scavenger for CXCL12 and CXCL11

Naumann, Ulrike ; Cameroni, Elisabetta ; Pruenster, Monika ; Mahabaleshwar, Harsha ; Raz, Erez ; Zerwes, Hans-Günter ; Rot, Antal ; Thelen, Marcus

In: Plos one, 2010, vol. 5, no. 2, p. e9175

Background: CXCR7 (RDC1), the recently discovered second receptor for CXCL12, is phylogenetically closely related to chemokine receptors, but fails to couple to G-proteins and to induce typical chemokine receptor mediated cellular responses. The function of CXCR7 is controversial. Some studies suggest a signaling activity in mammalian cells and zebrafish embryos, while others indicate a decoy...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Cxcl12 evolution – subfunctionalization of a ligand through altered interaction with the chemokine receptor

Boldajipour, Bijan ; Doitsidou, Maria ; Tarbashevich, Katsiaryna ; Laguri, Cedric ; Yu, Shuizi Rachel ; Ries, Jonas ; Dumstrei, Karin ; Thelen, Sylvia ; Dörries, Julia ; Messerschmidt, Esther-Maria ; Thelen, Marcus ; Schwille, Petra ; Brand, Michael ; Lortat-Jacob, Hugues ; Raz, Erez

In: Development, 2011, vol. 138, no. 14, p. 2909-2914

The active migration of primordial germ cells (PGCs) from their site of specification towards their target is a valuable model for investigating directed cell migration within the complex environment of the developing embryo. In several vertebrates, PGC migration is guided by Cxcl12, a member of the chemokine superfamily. Interestingly, two distinct Cxcl12 paralogs are expressed in zebrafish...