Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 (MCP-1), also known as Chemokine C-C motif Ligand 2 (CCL2), is a small cytokine involved in immune response, inflammation and tissue repair. Specifically, MCP1 is responsible for recruiting monocytes, memory T cells, and dendritic cells to sites of tissue injury or infection. MCP-1 is produced by a wide range of cell types as a reaction to diverse inflammatory stimuli, and has been implicated in many diseases characterized by monocytic infiltrates, such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis.
However, a recent study by Dr. Tsuyada, et al. at the City of Hope’s Beckman Research Institute has identified MCP1 as a key factor in breast cancer disease progression. In the paper (1), researchers investigated the effects of stromal fibroblasts on breast cancer stem cells to find that the CCL2 is significantly upregulated in cancer associated fibroblast cells. The authors found that increased MCP1 protein induced Notch1 expression and lead to the cancer stem cell signaling circuit of breast cancer cells. Furthermore, inhibiting CCL2 expression successfully prevented both Notch1 expression and tumor growth progression. These findings indicate that MCP1 antibodies may soon become useful therapeutic tools to block cancer stem cell-mediated disease progression.
1. PMID: 22472119
Novus Biologicals offers MCP1 reagents for your research needs including:
