Chemokine Receptor CXCR7 in Vascular Biology and Disease

Abstract

Initially CXCR4 was thought to be the exclusive receptor for SDF-1. However, the discovery of a new SDF-1 receptor CXCR7, made the picture more complex. Whether CXCR7 is a “scavenger” receptor or not is still in debate. The biased signaling pattern on CXCR7 has not been determined. The aim of my study is to prove that CXCR7 is not just a scavenger receptor but instead, it can induce cell signaling in a time- and ligand-dependent biased mechanism, unveiling potential role of CXCR7 in vascular biology and disease.