Altogether, we showed that CCL7 is essentially involved in the progression of colorectal cancer in a CT26 mouse model and that the expression of its receptor CCR2 could be related to a different outcome pattern of patients with colorectal carcinoma.
In CRC, the frequencies of cells expressing CCR2 and CXCR5 were significantly lower in both the CD4<sup>+</sup> and CD8<sup>+</sup> T lymphocyte populations compared to unaffected colonic mucosa, and the frequency of CCR9<sup>+</sup> cytotoxic T lymphocytes was significantly decreased in CRC tissue.
Real-time PCR showed that the expression of CCR1, CCR2 and CCR3 was also higher in liver metastases compared to primary CRC (p=0.001, p=0.033 and p<0.001, respectively).