CXCL-10: a new candidate for melanoma therapy?

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Background Melanoma is a malignancy that stems from melanocytes and is defined as the most dangerous skin malignancy in terms of metastasis and mortality rates. CXC motif chemokine 10 (CXCL10), also known as interferon gamma-induced protein-10 (IP-10), is a small cytokine-like protein secreted by a wide variety of cell types. CXCL10 is a ligand of the CXC chemokine receptor-3 (CXCR3) and is predominantly expressed by T helper cells (Th cells), cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), dendritic cells, macrophages, natural killer cells (NKs), as well as some epithelial and cancer cells. Similar to other chemokines, CXCL10 plays a role in immunomodulation, inflammation, hematopoiesis, chemotaxis and leukocyte trafficking. Conclusions Recent studies indicate that the CXCL10/CXCR3 axis may act as a double-edged sword in terms of pro- and anti-cancer activities in a variety of tissues and cells, especially in melanoma cells and their microenvironments. Most of these activities arise from the CXCR3 splice variants CXCR3-A, CXCR3-B and CXCR3-Alt. In this review, we discuss the pro- and anti-cancer properties of CXCL10 in various types of tissues and cells, particularly melanoma cells, including its potential as a therapeutic target.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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